Dusk Till Dawn
by BloodRedAngel808
Summary: Sakura and Neji are the newest Members of an Organization called 'Akatsuki'. They specialize in cases of the otherworldly variety. But there are many secrets and broken truths in their own world and each case they take on, could be their last.
1. The Weeping Angel Part One

**Summery:** _Sakura lived a normal life, until her best friend disappeared. Her world spins out of control as an old family's past comes back to haunt the town of Torid Falls. Neji and Sakura are thrown into a world so dark and dangerous, they may not get out alive._

**The Weeping Angel**

_Part One_

**Torid Falls, Louisiana**

_1920_

1111 West Thead Street.

Where a two-story mansion sat, proud and grand as the end of Thead Street. Numerous houses surrounded it, but paled in comparison.

It was this very house, where a young boy had grown up. His name, had been Sasuke Uchiha. Youngest son of Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha. Younger brother to Itachi, the rightful heir to the family fortune and prodigy of the Uchiha lineage. Years had passed in blissful happiness.

Until Mikoto received a strange gift from an old friend. Two stone statues, Angels dressed in flowing robes. One had both hands over it's eyes, wings tucked into the center of it's back. The other had one hand against it's stomach and the other over it's eyes. It's wings, however, were open and reached the span of nearly 6 feet each.

It was strange, but due to the beauty of the weeping stone, she had her sons set them at the entrance to the grand staircase that spiraled up the middle of the foyer. She had bid her farewells to the blonde lad who had delivered it, then shut the door.

It was the last time anyone saw them.

--

_35 years later..._

**Present Day, Torrid Falls**

" Come on you idiot!" Sakura Haruno hissed, glaring at her best friend Ino Yamanka. The blonde beauty sent her pink-hair friend a scowl before tossing her brush in her blue bag and following after. The street of Thead was stone quiet on the cool October night. A chilling wind blew slightly to the west, brown and orange leaves dancing across the wet sidewalks and landing in one, lone yard.

1111 West Thead street.

It was an old house, standing two stories high with a wrap-around porch, high pillars and a small tower nestled between two humps of the second story. The paint was cracked, weathered and falling from the wood. Water dripped steadily from the gutters, puddling around the bushes surrounding the porch.

" You can't be serious." Ino hissed, clutching her green jacket closer around her chest. " No one's allowed in there, the sherif'll have your hide if he finds out!"

Sakura snorted, bag slung over her black-coated shoulder and flashlight in her hand. " That old fart? _Please_ like he could do anything to me."

Blue eyes rolled, " Just because you're daddy's rich doesn't give you the right to nose around."

The pinkette sighed, turning to look at her friend. " Look, I just want some pictures for my project. We'll sneak it, snap some shots and leave."

Ino eyed the house hesitantly, then her best friend. 17 years together and she still didn't understand the thrill Sakura got from scary adventures. Every Halloween, she was dragged to at least one haunted house within miles of their small town.

And this years winner?

The Uchiha Manor.

She let out a weary sigh as Sakura scrambled over the low gate and started for the front steps. Ino followed behind reluctantly, trailing behind her pink friend and eyeing the groaning trees. She clutched her own flashlight closer to her stomach, clicking the light on as Sakura pushed open the front door.

It creaked open, the darkness within a black pit. Sakura's light clicked on, landing at the foot of a red-carpeted staircase. A rat scampered through the light, causing Ino to jump slightly. Jade eyes rolled, before she stepped forward, light dragging along the floor and towards the left wall, where a large entrance stood.

The high arches were carved in breathtaking Celtic knots, spiraling from the window's peak at the top, down to the floorboards. It lead into a room full of old furniture, dust covering old paintings, vases and a dying cup of daises sitting on the coffee table.

Two tea cups and a plate of moldy scones sat to the far left, towards the generous fireplace, where a large painting hung above it. Sakura swallowed, lifting the light to the portrait. Ino gasped, " Oh My..."

Three men dressed in suits stood around a red-dressed lady on a stool. High society, from the look of their clothes, well painted.

Except for the faces.

Sakura took a step back, hand over her mouth. She backed into Ino, who let out a small squeak at being touched suddenly. " Their face..."

" I know." Ino whispered.

The faces were ripped, scratched, the indention's in the wall giving witness to five claw marks. Had they been smiling? Frowning? Serious?

Who was this family, Sakura wondered, looking down at the pile of bread and half-drunken tea on the small, termite bitten table. And why was everything left as it was?

" It's almost as if no one has been here for...nearly...30 years." Sakura muttered, scanning the rest of the old living area.

" And these too." Ino gasped, pointing to pictures along the foyer walls. All the faces were scratched at, claws marks sunk into the white walls. " It's...it's..."

" The Uchiha family." Sakura stated, " There are no records of them at all. Only that they were a family of four, wealthy, steady and very gracious." She ran a finger-tip over one of a two boys on a swing. Ones face was clawed, but the other, was very much clear. Her head tilted slightly to the left, spiky hair and laughing eyes. The young boys friend?

" I wonder what happened?" Ino whispered, stepping up beside her.

Sakura shrugged, fingers wiping away the remaining dust on the picture. " They just...disappeared."

" Just...like that?"

The pink-haired girl nodded, turning to the front door. " Come on, lets go. All this is making me sad. " She opened the door, stepping out into the cool air.

Ino was right behind her, turned back to look at the photo's and noticed two statues on each side of the stairs. Hadn't one of them...? She snorted, shaking her head and shutting the door behind her.

Leaving one Angel with it's hand outstretched towards her retreating back.

--

" The Uchiha's?" Sheriff Tsunade Sanin muttered, brown eyes glaring holes in the papers that were held up by her hands. " Never heard of em'."

Sakura sighed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. " Come on, you're lying."

Tsunade looked up, blonde eyebrow raising slowly, " And how would you know that?" She eyed her young niece suspiciously, " Ain't nobody asked about them in, tsh, 20 years."

" Well I'm asking now." Sakura growled, uncrossing her arms to set them on her hips.

" Why the sudden interest?"

Sakura scrunched up her face, thinking hard, before smirking. " Daddy wants to buy it and tear it down."

" NO!" Tsunade shot up so fast, Sakura actually jumped back a foot, eyes wide. The blonde woman scowled at her, " No."

" Why?" Sakura hissed, regaining her courage and walking forward. " What's so scary about getting ride of something that old? It just sits there."

" Exactly." Tsunade whispered, falling back into her seat and rubbing her temples. " It just _sits _there. Never moving, just..._sitting._"

" What, is it supposed to move?" Sakura snorted.

Tsunade sighed, lifting her eyes to the ceiling. " My father, God rest his soul, used to say they were so full of life. That, even when they were gone for months on end, the house was alive. Always bright, always...happy." Brown eyes closed. " Then one day, it was just...gone. Like that. The house just...stood there. Rotting away."

Sakura sat on the arm of a chair, blowing out a breath and rustling a strand of pink hair that had fallen into her eyes. " That's all you know?"

" No one was paying attention." Tsuande looked back at her, eyes sad and sorrowful. " No one was expecting it, Sakura. It just _happened_. In the blink of an eye."

Sakura nodded, standing up and heading for the door. The phone went off and her aunt sighed, picking it up and giving a tense 'hello'. She opened the door, stepping out and turned to wave.

" Sakura."

Jade eyes blinked, taking in her aunts worried expression as she hung up the phone. " Yea?"

" When was the last time you saw Ino?"

--

She couldn't breathe right. It was like, her lungs were clogged up, strangling the air supply and rendering her lifeless. At least, that's what it felt like when deputy Kiba Inuzuka walked into Ino's house with a sad expression. He shook his head and Ino's mother burst into tears.

Sakura whimpered, pressing a hand to her forehead and closing her eyes. She faintly heard Tsunade whispering to the parents.

" We looked everywhere. She's not in Torid Falls."

The crying got louder.

" Sakura, where were you two last night?" Tsunade asked from across the living room. The pink-haired girl looked up, hand trailing down her face and eyes watery.

" We always go to Haunted Houses the last few days before Halloween." Sakura whispered, throat dry and scratchy. Man, she needed water. " We...I mean...I..." She swallowed again, " We went to the Uchiha manor."

" _Sakura_." Kiba hissed, jaw dropping open.

" I told everyone in this damn town not to go there." Tsunade snapped, " What the hell makes you so special?!"

" It's just a house!" Sakura snarled, standing up and fisting her hands, " What does that have to do with Ino running away!?"

Silence fell over the room, Ino's mothers sniffles now falling into wet hiccups and her husband whispering words to her. Sakura could hear the anguish in his tone. Her hands uncoiled, resting limply against her thighs.

" Tsunade?" She whispered.

" Don't even talk to me..."

" Who was the closest family to the Uchiha's?" Sakura cut in, eyes narrowing.

" The Hyuuga's." Tsunade shook her head, " What the hell does it matter?"

Sakura turned and stormed out of the house, ignoring her Aunts yells to come back. She kept going, got into her car and headed for their small library.

Hinata Hyuuga sat behind the front desk, book in hand and her short halo of dark hair framing her face as silver-gray eyes frantically swept over the pages. Sakura walked up, set her hand on the counter and sent the poor girl into the roof.

" Hinata."

" Y-yes...Sakura...Oh!" She slammed the book closed, " What is it?"

" Do you have a brother?"

The girl blinked. " Er..."

" Do you?" Sakura sighed exasperatedly, " I don't have time to waste."

Hinata nodded, " Well, he's not my brother, he's my cousin, but father took him..."

" Where is he?" Sakura cut in.

" Well, he's a history major at Cambridge, but he's..." The doorbell jiggled merrily and both girls turned to it simultaneously. A long-haired brunette walked in, book-pack slung across his chest and silver eyes narrowed at them.

" Hinata, you were supposed to meet me at the airport."

" Oh!" Hinata gasped, standing up, " Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Neji, I completely forgot...I..." He held up a hand.

" Don't ramble, Hinata. It's annoys me." The girl nodded, clasping her hands and sitting back down.

Sakura lifted an eyebrow, leaning against the counter and sizing the tall man from head to foot. " A bit of an asshole, but he'll do."

" Excuse me?" Neji glared, " He'll do what?"

Sakura flounced forward, looping her arm through one of his and marching out the door. " You'll be helping me uncover the Uchiha's mystery disappearance, so I can find my friend." She sent Hinata a wave and the door shut behind them.

Hinata blinked, waving back nervously, before smiling. She then giggled, picking up her book and resuming where she left off.

Good luck, cousin Neji.

--

He was surprisingly eager, Sakura mused later on as she waited for Tsunade in her office, to take the case on as soon as he was told the Uchiha's were involved. He sat in a chair beside her now, leafing through a text book and pushing up his glasses every time they would slip down his nose.

She frowned, shaking her head and turning as her Aunt walked in, a stack of files under her arm. The files were then thrust ed into Sakura's arm. " Some of the stories are stupid. Pictures salvaged from the negatives at the photo shop. Jiriya found them in an old store room."

Sakura nodded, " But it's not the whole story, is it?"

" No one knows the whole story." Tsunade took a seat behind her desk, eyeing Neji. " She drag you into this?"

He nodded, " As...brutal as her insistence was, I am just as curious as to how our family acquaintances vanished."

She nodded, before turning back to her niece. " Sakura. I can't believe I'm letting you do this on you're own."

Sakura clutched the files closer to her chest. " I don't want any unnecessary...missing people." She muttered.

Tsunade nodded, " I can understand that, but..."

Sakura's cell phone went off in her pocket suddenly. The girl sighed, setting the files onto a chair and whipping out the phone and pressing the accept button. She blinked. " It's a text."

**From: **_Akatsuki_

**Body:**_ Beware of the angels! _

She glared, showing the message to Neji, who lifted an eyebrow. " Who's Akatsuki?" She shrugged, showing her aunt, who snorted.

" Some prank text." She shook her head, " Just be careful. Both of you."

The nodded.

--

" You're insane." Neji muttered, shuffling through the files now spread out on Sakura's bedroom floor. He picked up another photo, peering at it. " Some of this junk is too blurred to make out."

" They're all old photo's." Sakura sighed.

" Can't we just get one from the house?" He sighed, throwing down yet another blurred photograph and glaring at her from over the pile. Her face changed, going from concentrated, to pained.

" You can't see the faces."

" Um...what?"

She looked up, eyes serious, " I mean it. In every picture, the faces have been clawed off." Her fingers stilled over a group of photo's, she picked them up and started leafing through them.

" And you've seen them, haven't you?" Neji whispered, moving across the room and sitting beside her. She tensed, but he didn't move away. Then she froze, eyes on one picture as she moved it to where they both could see.

" Oh...they're as pretty as I imagined." She muttered in awe, running a finger over the smooth cover of the photo. Three black-haired men and a dark-haired lady. Handsome, beautiful and brooding. Well, the men were brooding and the lady was smiling.

It was a husband and a wife, two sons, far apart in age, standing together in a group in front of the large manor.

Sakura stood up, walking to her window and leaning against the glass. She pressed the photo to it, covering up the large house in the distance. Neji stepped up beside her, eyeing the house. " When I was little, I remember my dad telling me the Uchiha's were close friends. They had grand parties, beautiful attire and wonderful cooking." He chuckled, " Then he told me that they just...vanished one day. Ran off somewhere, he said, that they couldn't take being kind anymore. That their true nature was unkind and cold-hearted."

She glanced at him, " Do you believe that?"

" When I look at the house. Yea. It nags at me." He muttered, " I mean, why would they leave like that? Over night? Leaving all their stuff behind."

" That doesn't explain the destroyed photos." She sighed.

" I suppose." He looked down at her, tilting his head slightly. " Why did you choose me?"

She looked up, " I want a stranger. Someone I'm not attached to and who isn't attached to me. So if something happens to either of us, the other will go on searching."

A ring spilt the air and Sakura sighed, pulling out her phone and glaring at the message on the small cell screen.

**From:** _Akatsuki_

**Body:** _Beware of the angels! 1111_

" They send me a message every hour." She hissed, her hand sliding the photo over the garden in her neighbors backyard. Her head shook slightly, typing a response to them asking who the hell they were. Neji watched as she moved the photo.

" Wow, they've got an awesome statue."

Sakura blinked, " What are you..." She turned back to the window, gaping at the sight of a tall statue of an Angel sitting her neighbors garden. It's hands were on it's face, wings outstretched. " Neji..."

" What, I think it's pretty, in a sad..."

" They don't _have_ an Angel statue in their garden." Sakura whispered.

" Oh Shit.." Neji hissed, grabbing her curtains and shutting them quickly. Her phone went off again and she whipped it out.

_Meet us at the library._

She pressed the end button, grabbed Neji's hand. " Lets go."

All he could do was nod and follow as they rushed out the door, got into her car and drove down to the library, not even risking a second look into the garden.

They arrived, climbing out of the car and rushing inside to see Hinata glaring at two men. Both wore black cloaks covered in red-white outlined clouds. The taller one had his hood down, blue hair spiked up in odd places and arguing with Hinata.

The shorter one turned to them a pale hand lifting and shoving the hood back to reveal long black hair, red eyes and a pale face.

" Oh My God." Sakura gasped, pressing a hand to her chest.

" You have got to be kidding me." Neji shook his head.

The pale man stepped forward, extending his hand. " Itachi Uchiha. I believe...you have alot of questions."

_To Be Continued..._

OMG. Did you like it? The second part is coming soon, I've vowed not to go to sleep till this is COMPLETE, or I will loose the inspiration for it! -gasp-

Worry not, Guardian Bay shall be typed up the second I get back to my home state. Yes, this is based off the Doctor Who Episode 'Blink' but I'll I'm using are the angels. Not what they do in the episode. Nor the story line.

So sit back and wait patiently for part two.

Thank You! (review please!)

Blessed be,

Angel


	2. The Weeping Angel Part Two

**The Weeping Angel**

_Part Two_

A closed sign hung on the front door of the Torid Falls library, for inside, five people sat around a large pile of books in an old store room in the back. Sakura and Neji watched carefully as Itachi set down the photo Sakura had brought along with her.

" It's been so long..." He muttered, red eyes scanning the picture one last time before setting it atop the stack of books.

" Where the hell have you been?!" Sakura finally shrieked out, lunging forward to grab Itachi's cloak, but Neji caught her first. " Did you kill your own family?!"

Itachi's eyes narrowed, " I beg your pardon?"

" All of you calm down." His blue-haired partner, now identified as Kisame, put a hand on Itachi's shoulder. The shorter man relaxed against the hand. " Now, it's a long story, he can only tell you so much."

" And why is that?" Hinata whispered, suddenly suspicious.

" I don't remember it all." Itachi sighed, " All I know, is it all started, the day Naruto delivered those silly statues mother adored."

_Mikoto smiled at Naruto before turning and calling up to the boys upstairs. " Sasuke! Itachi! Come and get these inside!"_

_Two dark-haired teens came rushing down the stairs, the younger one smiled at the blonde. " Naruto, what are you doing here?"_

_" You're mom got a delivery." Naruto smiled, motioning to the two statues in the back of his truck. " I'd get them out myself, but, " He lifting his braced left thumb and Sasuke rolled his eyes._

_" Typical dead last."_

_" Oi, Bastard!" The blonde growled, shaking his fist as Sasuke and Itachi lifted the first statue out of the truck and into the house. _

_" Set that one on the left side, Itachi dear." Mikoto said, " And the other on the right."_

_" Yes ma'am." Both boys sighed, leaving and returning with the second one. Mikoto fawned over then as Itachi headed for the kitchen and Sasuke back outisde._

_" This you're last delivery?" Sasuke muttered, leaning over the front porch railing and smirking as blue eyes rolled._

_" Yea. I'll be over tonight." Naruto winked and headed for his truck. " Leave the window unlocked."_

Itachi blinked, rubbing his temple. " I watched it from the window, I guess, in a way, I knew what they were doing."

" Wait...what does their affair have to do with the family's disappearance?" Neji snorted.

" The statues are Angels." Itachi said. " In the bible, they're used to watch over God's domain. Correcting sin, creating miracles." He leaned back against Kisame, his body relaxing more than from the touch of his hand. " Mom loved them, dusted them every ten minutes, fawned over them for hours, which is probably why I didn't get suspicious until she was in bed."

_Itachi muttered to himself as he exited his room. He was starting to get sore from lifting those heavy statues that morning. The old grandfather clock belted out elven rings before falling silent. He passed Sasuke's room, the door open and no one inside._

_Must be down for water, Itachi thought, heading down the stairs and into the kitchen on his right. A cabinet door was open, swinging on it's hinges. Itachi snorted, stupid Sasuke must have headed out to meet Naruto with a midnight snack._

_He filled a glass with water, took some long sips, rinsed it out and headed back to the stairs. As he turned, he noticed steam coming up from a tea cup on the coffee table. Fresh scones were in a plate beside them, the fire going low._

_" Mother?" He called, walking slowly towards the entrance. " Father?"_

_No sounds. Nothing. Itachi shrugged, turning back to the stairs, then froze in his footsteps. Both Angel's were no longer beside the stairs, but mere feet in front of him, hands outstretched, mouths open, faces forlorn and small tears beneath their eyes._

" All I remember after that was blinking and waking up next to Kisame." Itachi whispered, eyes straying back to the photograph.

" We're apart of a private organization called Akatsuki. Every member, has come in contact with something 'otherworldy' and comes out with strange side affects." Kisame explained, " I remember nothing of my encounter, but all we're certain of, is that Itachi somehow escaped the Angel's grasp, and in receiving a scratch, became a human version of them."

" He's the only one who can quelm my anger." Itachi muttered, " It's so...potent inside of me. Always welling up when I see something ungodly or am threatened in anyway."

" So...you're what they would look like, if they weren't stone." Sakura said, leaning forward and pressing a hand to his face. " How horrible it must have been for you."

" They're after you now." Itachi hissed, moving away from her hand, " You've committed no sin, but to trample on the haven they've created for themselves."

" A still world." Neji muttered.

" Exactly." Itachi nodded, " As much as it hurts, to return to this place, they will stop at nothing, until they've slain the ones that know of them. Or have seen them."

" We are so screwed." Sakura muttered. " How do they attack?"

" Don't blink." Kisame said, " Keep them in you're sight at all times. Don't go to a room alone."

" How do you kill them?" Hinata spoke up.

" By destroying their life force." Itachi sighs, standing up, " We have to go to the house, find where they're keeping their hostages."

" You mean, Ino may still be alive?!" Sakura gasped.

" No." Those red eyes looked away, " When they touch you, you're turned into stone. They feed off you're life force. However long you live, the consume. It's only been a few years, they should have to consume the next one. If we can destroy them all before they can feed, they'll become ash."

--

The house was just as still and creepy as Sakura remember it. But at that time, she had been fearless. It had been just a harmless old house until just a day ago. A warm hand slide into her own, she looked up at Neji, who was staring straight at the house looming over them.

They had left Hinata at the police station, guarded double time.

" Why aren't they following us now?" Sakura whispered.

Itachi glanced back at her, pulling out a key and unlocking the gate. " They're waiting for us."

She lifted her chin high, tugging on Neji's hand and following Itachi and Kisame into the house. The spots in front of the stairs were empty. The photos were scattered all over the floor, the entire frame now clawed apart. Claw marks covered the walls, the stair case, the coffee table.

The tea cups and scones were smashed against the foyer wall.

" They're angry..." Sakura muttered, turning to look into the kitchen.

She screamed.

" Oh shit!" Neji cursed, his hand tightening around Sakura's. It was poised to attack, fingers curled into claw-like stone, fangs in it's mouth and it's eyes narrowed at them.

" Don't stop looking at it." Kisame whispered, eyes darting around, " Now where the other one?"

" Guarding their lives, I'd say." Itachi glared.

" But _where?_" Sakura exclaimed desperately, " Where would they hide them?"

It was quiet for a second before Itachi's whisper cut through them all. " Sasuke's room."

" All right, lets go." Sakura said, " Itachi and Kisame, go up and watch from the back, Neji and I'll keep an eye on this one." She whispered, moving back as Itachi and Kisame headed up the stairs. They followed one step at a time, moving in sync. Sakura watched as the statue stayed in that one spot, as it it had been carved there.

" I have to blink, Sakura." Neji whispered.

" Fine, take turns." She nodded, " Go."

He turned away, then looked back, Sakura did the same. " Good. Good." Kisame muttered, " You two work good together."

" Likewise." Neji chuckled, eyes trained on that one statue at the base of the stiars. They reached the top and instantly lost sight. " Shit."

" Don't panic." Itachi hissed, " That's exactly what they want."

Sakura felt them turn, felt Itachi and Kisame tense up instantly. He had guessed the right room. " They're both in here now." Kisame said.

Neji and Sakura both turned around, whipping their flashlights out. The moon shone through the window, casting a haunting light against the four statues sitting in front of the window. Four, because one of the statues were of two people, holding onto each other.

" Sasuke..." Itachi whispered, moving his eyes from the Angel's to stare solemnly at his younger brother and the boy wrapped in his arms. " You blinked, baby brother."

_Sinners_

It was hissed out, the Angel's were back in their weeping positions. Soft sobs played through the air like a soft melody.

_Siiinnnneeerrsss_

It was chocked out this time, through horrid-sound sobs. They got louder and louder and louder. Sakura covered her ears, trying not to wince as the sobs became a scream and the word echoed through her brain. Embedding it like a red-hot poker.

_**SINNERS!**_

The window shattered, crystal shards floating through the air and landing in piles around the statues. They were soon tinted in blood, pooling around the glass as it poked into the light gray rug. It bled, the house bled like it was _alive._

Sakura shook her head slowly, then faster. " Shut up...shut up..._SHUT UP_!"

The sobbing ceased. The word stopped repeating. The blood stopped flowing. The lights starting flickering on and off.

" Not good." Itachi cursed, shaking his light, then looking back up. With each flicker of the light, the Angel's were moving forward, nasty, evil and ready to kill. Kisame passed the sledgehammers to Sakura and Neji. " Run!"

They all took off in separate directions, heading for a statue. Itachi took out his father, Kisame his mother. Neji spotting Sakura between Sasuke and Naruto and Ino. Ino looked frightened, hands in front of her face, mouth open in what would have been an ear-splitting scream.

" How could you do this?!" Sakura's yell rang through the room.

_Sinners!_

" So what?! Isn't what you're doing a sin? " She lifted the sledgehammer as the Angels grew closer with every flicker of the lights in their hands. " Killing people, isn't that a SIN?!"

_Sinners!_

She was sobbing now, agony in her heart. Both for her best friend, whom she'd never see again and for the two lovers who would have given up everything to be together. Crystal tears rolled from jade eyes, as she lifted the sledgehammer higher. The lights flickered again. " Love is love." She whispered, " No matter what form it takes. God gave us free will. To do what we want, to feel what we want, to love who we want."

_Sinners!_

_**Sinners!**_

_**SINNERS!**_

"It's not your job to judge!" She swung the hammer at Sasuke, shattering the statue, then lifting it again she let another tear fall down. " You always said my curiosity would get us killed..."

It seemed to happen in slow motion, the lights flickered on, then off as the Angel's were centimeters away from her. Then she swung at Ino with all her might, letting the stone pieces fall into the pool of blood, glass and stone.

A piercing screeching sound ripped through the air, causing Sakura to fall backwards into Neji's waiting arms. And just as the sun slowly came up, flooding the room with light, the last image of the Angel's was their open mouths, one hand over their eyes, the other reached for the ceiling.

Itachi stepped forward, tossing down his hammer and watching as the stone turned to dust and drifted out the window. " Like he'd take you back now."

--

Tsunade tried, she really did, not to cry as Kiba set a letter on her desk. There had been no word as to how Sakura and Neji had done on their mission.

Had they found Ino?

She opened the envelope slowly, tears welling up as she recognized Sakura's handwriting.

_Dear Tsunade,_

_By now, Neji and I are heading away. Far away, with some new friends. I found out the Uchiha's mystery and I have to say, you're going to be overwhelmed._

_One of the members survived, but not without consequences of his own. We found out, that, what are now called, 'The Weeping Angel's', are in fact former messengers of God, who had fallen from grace. They killed and consumed the life energy. The 1111 thread street, was like a beacon for them. They used some messed up code for Angel talk to erase sin.(1)  
_

_We couldn't save Ino. _

_They had chosen the Uchiha's because what seemed like a happy family, happened to be one that was starting to fall apart. Mikoto Uchiha, the mother, found out that her son and his childhood friend Naruto, were lovers. Both being men, she instantly gushed to a long-distance penpal of hers._

_Then, she found out her husband, Fugaku Uchiha, was having an affair with a woman of the lower branch of the Hyuuga family. The day Naruto had delivered the Angel's, the Itachi Uchiha, the survivor, went down stairs. Sasuke and Naruto, had snuck out to be alone, the Angel's caught them. Mikoto was confronting her husband in the living room over tea and the Angel's got them as well._

_Itachi's story. Is confidential._

_They're gone, so do everyone a favor and tear that house down. Build a community garden there, erased all the evil that was done there._

_I'm going to miss you. Tell my father and Mother that I eloped with a Hyuuga. I can almost see their faces. And yes, Neji and I are engaged. He proposed to me while I was covered in blood and crying my eyes out, can you believe it? _

_Anyway, I want you to burn this as soon as you're done reading it, make sure no one else has read it because I want you to take this information to your grave._

_We've joined a private organization called Akatsuki. They handle cases such as the one Neji and I took on. If you need us, type in 123 in your cell and It'll find us. It's risky to send you this, but don't try to find me. You never will. _

_We saw, what looked to be Sasuke and Naruto a few days ago. We think, that they've been reborn with new identities, new lives. A happier one, I hope, because those two deserve it. I'm hoping to run into Ino one day. Learn her new name. See if she's the same old Ino._

_I love you. Thank you so much for everything._

_And Tsunade?_

_Keep statues out of Torid Falls, do you hear me? We don't know where they are, where they come from, or when they'll strike. Don't go near them, don't look away from them until you're as far as possible._

_And don't blink._

The End

I seriously recommend The Doctor Who Episode, season three 'Blink'. If you like suspense, that's the episode for you. I got chills and almost screamed a couple of times. And can you believe it? I just about finished this story at midnight. I only left this computer to go to the bathroom. Speaking of which...I'm hungry.

I'll never look at a statue the same way again.

Review please!

Blessed be,

Angel


	3. Courter's Curse Part One

Disclaimer: This story belongs to ME. The characters, do not, however. The plot and everything else do. For the storyline is being used elsewhere and is copyrighted to me. So you steal, I hunt you down.

_Sakura and Neji investigate a strange castle that overlooks the small village of Forlorn. They claim a man with flowing brown hair sits in the tower, signing them off to their deaths. Kakashi, man with a troubled past is asked to aid in this mission. Unleashing a power beyond imagination......_

**Courter's Curse**

A flickering candle atop an old desk sent abnormal shadows across the burnt walls of a small room. Shriveled pictures scattered along the wall, tattered curtains outlining the cracked glass of a large window on the west wall.

The floor was covered in books, both open and closed, ripped and torn. A scratching sound became evident through the silence of the very still room. It lead to a hunched over dark figure at a moth-eaten desk. A black-feathered quill was perched between thin, pale fingers, scribbling blindly on a blank piece of parchment.

No words were forming, for when it would pause to dip the pen in the glass bottle, no ink would appear on the tip. Whoever it was, did not seem to notice, but continued write, their free hand buried in long brown locks.

Beside it, sat a rusted gold pocket watch. The chain stretched out over the numerous sheets of paper, some blank, some filled with unitelligable writing. Strange symbols covered the crusted edges and the small nob on the bottom was rusted in it's place.

Then, the quill stopped moving and the figure's body straightened in it's seat. A pale hand reached out for the watch, opening it slowly and peering at it before snapping it shut and standing up. It walked to the window that overlooked the small town of Forlorn.

A loud chime echoed through the large castle.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

A hand was pressed against the glass as patient, clouded brown eyes watched the cozy town covered in layers of snow.

" It is time."

----------------------------------

Crash.

Bang.

" Oh shit! Deidara! Move!"

Crack!

" Danna-sama!"

Sakura Haruno stuck her head of pink hair out of a tall kitchen door, one eyebrow raised and a spatula in her right hand. What she witnessed, was one of quite a few daily rituals within the secret base hidden deep in the Appalachian Mountains.

A blond, gray-eyed man dressed in scorpion pj's was sprawled out at the base of a large red staircase, books scattered every which way and a red-haired man laying upside down on the last couple of steps. The blond groaned, rubbing his rear tenderly before sighing at all the books on the floor. " Sorry, danna-sama."

" Deidara." Sakura gave him a scolding look, " Leader-sama has told you a million times not to run down the stairs."

" Ano...Sakura-chan." Deidara laughed nervously, " I know, but I needed to see Danna really bad."

" Well, you found me." The red-head muttered darkly, standing up and flattening out the standard black robes their Leader made them wear. Magenta eyes stared passively at the expanse of hard-cover books that now littered the foyer's oriental carpet. " I had them all organized."

" What happened _this_ time?" Came a groaning voice from behind Sakura. Kisame, dressed in just a pair of jeans and a black sweater glared down at Deidara, who was begging for forgiveness at his partners feet. " Again?"

Sakura laughed, " Yep." She turned on her heel, bouncing back into the kitchen, where Neji was chopping up onions. " Kisame, go wake up Itachi and leader! Breakfast will be done soon."

The blue-haired man nodded, stepping around Deidara and Sasori and climbing up the stairs.

Neji glanced up as Sakura walked back, his facial expression giving away the fact that he was annoyed again. " Did Deidara run into Sasori again?"

She nodded, flipping over an omelet and grabbing for the shaker of pepper. " If it wasn't for Sasori's uncanny ability to be stupidly calm, Deidara would be in his grave already."

The bruntte shook his head, dumping the onions into one of the egg mixtures. " Sometimes, I wonder why we got ourselves into this." He set the knife in the sink, " We're not like them."

" Leader needs your skills." Came Itachi's soft morning voice. His powerful way of speaking didn't come till after about six cups of coffee and four omelet's. " Being different is why we started this in the first place."

Sakura gave Neji an 'i-told-you-so' look before returning to making everyone's breakfast.

In a house with nine men and one girl, strangely enough, Sakura never feared for her life. Or her virtue for that matter. When they had arrived, 6 months ago, both her and Neji had been nervous and intimidated by the six strange men that worked with Itachi and Kisame. From their appearances, you could tell each was different than the other. Cursed, deformed or born with something they had no power over.

Each had a partner. Itachi had Kisame, Sasori had Deidara, Kakuzu had Hidan and Zetsu was on his own, he was thier 'spy'.

At first, she almost changed her mind, then after week, everyone seemed comfortable around each other. Leading back into Kisame called 'their stupid timeline'. Each and everyone of them were just like any other human being.

They had feelings, humor and it was like one big(and insane) family. Sure, she missed her friends from Torrid falls, but with a fiancee on one side and eight wonderful men on her other, she wouldn't give it up for the world.

The only problem?

Leader hadn't sent them on a case since they'd been inducted.

Sakura Haruno, had been reduced to a cook, maid and nurturer. Not that she was complaining.....okay, so she was, just a little bit. They'd already fought psychotic statues that could kill you if you _blinked_. She was pretty damn sure they could handle anything else that came their way.

" Smells good."

The kitchen area grew quiet as a man in a silk black robe strode in, spiked orange hair and drooping spiral eyes proof that he had just been woken up. They bowed respectfully, before waiting for him to take a seat. Sakura set a few omelet's on his plate, poured a glass of milk and set it in front of him.

She smiled softly, " Good morning, leader-sama. Sleep well?" Spiraled eyes glanced up to meet jade before nodding slightly. " Good. Good. Enjoy your meal. " Sakura straightened an clapped her hands. " Alright you lazy bums. Go fix your plates."

Groans came from all the members already seated around the table.

After fixing plates, dropping a few, spilling silly amounts of milk and shoving Hidan off a chair, they were finally all seated at the long oak table, forks clinking and talking silently amongst themselves. Neji smirked at something Kisame said and Sakura elbowed him and told him it was rude.

" Sakura?"

Silence fell over the table, all eyes instantly moving to the Leader again. Sakura made a move to stand, but he held up his hand. " Stay seated. I have a case for you."

" Oh..." She blinked, seting her hands on the table, " Alright."

He cleared his throat, " You'll be going to Forlorn. A town hidden in the Rocky Mountains." His hand made a waving motion to the man on his right hand side, who looked oddly like a plant. " Zetsu."

Zetsu nodded, " It's a castle that overlooks the town. An old professor used to live there, but he moved into town years ago and just left it as it was. Complained about the clocks going off at odd times, whispered voices and screams."

" A ghost..?" Sasori asked.

" We think." Zetsu nodded, " Hoping actually, since this will be your first case, but we'll be sending Itachi and Kisame with-"

Kakuzu growled, " Why send them both? We can't afford sending four of them to a stay in a castle that's not worth the price that old geezer wants us to pay."

Leader's eyes narrowed, making half of them wince. " You know they can not be apart. They are more experienced and level-headed when it comes to the past. We'll find the money if we have to."

Sakura raised her hand, silencing them all. " I have access to my funds. They're in an account that my parents or anyone doesn't know about, I'd be glad to hand it over."

" You don't have to." Neji whispered, taking her hand.

" Really, you don't." Zetsu's white side whispered.

" Oh but I want to." Sakura smiled softly, " I can't do anything else with it, and we need it. I'll give Kakuzu the codes and he can take care of it."

" Agreed." proLeader stood up, moving around the table, " You leave at sunrise tomorrow. I'll send Kyuubi when I want a progress report."

" Yes. Leader-sama." Sakura and Neji stated. After he left the room, Deidara smiled.

" You're first mission!"

" Deidara, you make it sound like we're ninjas!" Hidan laughed, leaning back in his chair and taking a swig from his orange juice.

" We are!" Deidara shouted, throwing a fist into the air.

Sakura just shook her head as Kisame threw a piece of toast at him.

-------------------------------

"Whoa."

Whoa, was right. Neji thought the next afternoon after arriving at the small town of Forlorn. They were all dressed in the standard Akatsuki black robes, 'winter style' as Deidara had put it after handing each of them their correct sizes.

They had other clothes of course, but one must arrive with the air of business.

The town was small indeed, with rows of houses and small shops. Snow covered brick streets, few cars and numerous people dressed up for winter. It didn't look like the 21st century had touched it at all. Smoke billowed out of chimney's and the fresh smell of bread filled the air.

It was surrounded by trees and nestled neatly between two mountains. And right at the top, hanging barely off a cliff, was the castle. Old and magestic, it sat with it's lone tower at the very top.

" It's beautiful." Sakura whispered, breath fogging in the cool air as she clutched her coat tighter. " It's so..homey."

Neji gave her a small smile before taking her hand and leading her into the ice-slick streets. He glanced back at Kisame who was leading a frustrated Itachi around the slippery sections. " Where does this old man live again?"

" He works in an antique store down Lone lane." Itachi muttered, " Someplace called 'Forgotten Treasure's'. " He grabbed his scarf and lifted it over his mouth and nose. Kisame chuckled, following the grumpy Uchiha.

The man was sitting in a rocking chair when they walked up, smoking a pipe and petting a golden retriever that had seen better years. It's head lifted, barking and alerting the man of visitors. Faded green eyes blinked at them as they stopped in front of him. " Can I help you folks?"

" Are you Greg Finingan?" Sakura asked politely, smiling down at the old dog after the man nodded, she continued. " I'm Kitty Baker, and these are my friends Kevin, Ian and Nathan. We called ahead to stay at the castle."

" Oh. " Greg nodded, standing up and grabbing an eagle shaped cane beside the chair. " Forgive me, In my old age, I'm blind." He chuckled humorously, " But I don't forget a voice as pretty as that. If you have your stuff, we'll load up and head that way."

Sakura blushed, said thank you and they followed him into the store, the dog trotting behind. " He's a beautiful dog." Neji stated, " What's his name?"

" Courter." Greg gave a small smile, " My daughter named him that on her third birthday, she loved the Courter's tale, so it was only right she name him after it."

" Courter?" Kisame muttered, " It must be a very old story."

" Older than I." The man sighed, leading them to a horse-drawn carriage. They loaded up, climbed in and started off. It was a peaceful ride, a bit chilly, since they were heading up the rocky terrain of the mountain, but peaceful all the same.

Sakura leaned forward, watching the midnight black horse trot over the rocks a dirt. " Would you tell me the story?" She asked, tucking a strand of pink hair behind an ear.

Greg nodded, giving her a slow smile, " Of course, it's no love story. No happily ever after. I'm sure you've heard of dashing princes courting pretty young ladies."

" That's usually how it goes." Itachi muttered darkly, irritated from the cold and trying to get warm by leaning against Kisame.

" Well, this story begins almost one hundred and twenty-eight years ago, in this very town. A sick boy was taken in by the lord of that castle. He was kind-hearted, sickly and beaten to shreds by his parents. He grew up, writing music, playing the piano and creating wonderful tales of romance and courage. As he grew, the Lord became sick, his only heir was a young girl a few years older than the boy himself. When the Lord died, in his will, the entire estate was given to the boy."

Sakura gasped, " What? Why?"

The old man shrugged, " No one knows. Some say he trusted the boy more than his own daughter. But, she was a nasty girl, always into mischief. She was determined to marry him, just to get her end of the fortune that was rightfully hers." They hit a bump, causing Neji to groan. " Sorry lad, well, one night, she pushed him too far. And since a maid passed the story down, it was said she grew desperate enough to turn to murder, but he wouldn't let her get that far. They had a ghastly fight that ended in a fire and both perished in it."

He let out a long sigh, " The called it the 'Courter's Curse'. She tried to court the unwilling and it ended in death."

Sakura set her chin in her hand, eyes watching the castle as they started up the long, winding path to the front gates. " So much sorrow in such a pretty place."

The carriage came to a halt at the cast iron gates, Greg hopped off and unlocked the rusted silver chains hanging off the bars. " Even the most beautiful of things, have the nastiest stories."

" Don't I know it." Itachi whispered, lifting his eyes to the castle, that seem so much bigger now than it had been in the town below.

It was tall, ancient and the old cement bricks were weathered with age. A large fountain sat at the base of a vast staircase that lead to the front door. The stairs were cracked, the statues on the railings were missing their heads, which laid broken on the snow covered grass.

A sad, longing feeling encased them all as they grabbed their suitcases and walked up the stairs. The wind blew, trees creaked and it was an eerie sound indeed. Greg unlocked the door with a metal key, then handed it to Neji. " It unlocks every door. I had the Gardener bring in fresh food, firewood and sheets for the beds. There are lots of rooms, so choose and set up. It is dusty, so be careful."

" The gardener..." Neji started, " Does he come here often?"

"Kakashi?" Greg let out a raspy laugh, " We only call him a gardener because it stuck, He takes care of the horses out back ." He shook his head, stuffing his hands into his pockets, " That lazy boy wouldn't pick up a stick if asked, but I'll send him 'round in case you need something."

" Send him soon." Itachi said, eyeing the man as he climbed into his carriage. " I have a few questions for him."

Greg nodded, " Alright then. Enjoy your stay."

As the old man left, Sakura stepped into the house and had to catch her breath. It opened into the biggest foyer she had ever seen. There wasn't much to it, but the structure was something to behold. The stair case was pressed up against the far right wall, it's railings in the form of a scaled dragon, who's face burst out at the base.

The ceiling was high and had paintings of large dragons and armored warriors with metal swords. Flames outlined the edges and curled into the wood where the ceiling and wall met. It was something from story books and old wizard movies.

" May I help you?"

Sakura screamed and dropped her case, spinning around and placing a hand over her heart. Itachi already had a gun out and Kisame's hand was on the hilt of the large sword he always carried around. Neji just lifted an eyebrow at the silver-haired man standing in the door way to what looked to be a ballroom.

One eye was covered in a eye patch, but the vertical shape of scar could be seen above and below the black patch. He was tall, dressed in a black turtleneck sweater and dark jeans. A half-lidded black eye watched them in boredom, as if to forget about their presence.

" Are you the ghost?" Sakura asked.

The handsome man let out short laugh, " No. The names Kakashi. Kakashi Hatake. You must be from Akatsuki."

_To Be Continued......_

That was such a stupid place to leave off, but this was getting far too long. I need to move on the actual suspense stuff! lol

I hope you're all enjoying Dusk Till Dawn so far. I had someone give me the idea to make more, like missions for them. At first, I didn't have many Ideas...then I started watching D. Gray-man and the opening songs shot inspiration through me!

So....Courter's Curse was born. Trust me, there's more to the old mans story. There's such a large plot for this one, I may end up with three chapters! lol

The next one should be up soon after, if not tonight, then tomorrow!

Blessed Be,

Angel


	4. Courter's Curse Part Two

**Courter's Curse**

_Part Two_

" Who the hell are you?" Itachi growled, lifting the gun higher and glaring at the silver-haired male. Kakashi's lone eyebrow rose high as he stepped forward.

" You don't remember me?" He stuffed his hands into his pockets and tilted his head at Kisame. " You of all people should remember me."

Kisame scrunched up his nose, scanning the man from his head to his foot before snorting, " You can't be that little twerp from the Blackout case."

Kakashi chuckled, giving the blue-haired man a small salute. " The one and only."

" That was almost 20 years ago!" Kisame hissed, " Pein said you died in the building with Konan!" He released the hilt of his sword, putting his hand out and letting Kakashi shake it.

" We got out, barely with our lives." Kakashi muttered with a shake of his head. " Konan gave up searching and settled in northern Europe. I found somewhere quiet and....."

" Haunted?" Sakura supplied.

Kakashi laughed, " I didn't expect it to be haunted, but it was entertaining. You two must be really new, Zetsu said you were the first inductees in...wow.....50 years?" He put his hand out to Neji, who shook it firmly.

Sakura gave Kisame and Itachi odd looks, " How old _are_ you guys?"

" You really don't want to know." Itachi muttered, turning to the stairs and preparing to ascend them, " Come on, lets get our-" A loud chime echoed through the foyer.

Once.

Twice.

Five times.

Sakura blinked, stepping forward then looking up. " _Itachi!" _She cried as the large chandelier snapped above the staircase and dropped right on Itachi. The tinkering of glass shards hitting wood filled the air as Neji shot forward. He let out a large amount of air when he spotting Kisame and Itachi a couple of steps above the fallen light.

Kakashi jerked forward as the pink-haired girl nearly fainted. " Whoa there. No worries, Kisame's very fast."

" Kakashi, what the hell was that?" Neji snarled.

" He does that sometimes." Kakashi muttered softly, his lone black eye staring at the ceiling. " Each clock in this house is set to a different time." He pointed to the large grandfather clock at the foot of the stairs. " When that one reaches five pm, the chandelier falls. At ten o'clock pm, the door to the tower slams ten times, and at three am? Well, lets just hope you're all asleep by then."

" How come?" Kisame asked, kicking shards of glass away as both he and Itachi joined them back on the floor.

Kakashi sighed, walking towards the other end of the hall and motioned with his right hand to follow. " Come on, I've got a lot to tell you."

The followed silently, walking into a large parlor room decorated in a western saloon style. They all took seats in plush red chairs around an ancient coffee table. It was covered in moth-eaten playing cards, half-empty bottles of booze and burnt out cigar's.

" Where to start..." Kakashi muttered, pressing a finger to his temple. " Ah. Well, Have you heard the story? I'd assume Finnigan would have relayed it to you already."

Sakura nodded.

" Well, at three am, every day, a clock chimes three times. It doesn't come from any clocks in the rest of the house, so I assume it's in the tower. But, the clock stops, just...freezes on three and the entire interior of the house relives the fire."

" _What_?" Neji whispered, mouth open slightly, " Like....this entire house is rewinding time?"

" Not quite." Kakashi sighed, " Just that one event. I had to stay and take care of a sick horse one night, so I decided to crash in a room upstairs. I couldn't sleep, so I wandered around. First, there was yelling. Lots of yelling, a woman's screams a loud crash and then fire. It spread from the tower, down the stairs and halfway down the hall I was staying in." He shook his head, " No matter where I ran to in the house, you could still feel the heat and hear the screams. All the clocks stopped ticking, frozen on four or five different times."

Sakura's eyes softened as the elder man looked out the snow covered window on the far left side of the room. " Have you ever seen him?"

" Once." It was whispered, faint. " I was out in the north garden, the roses were in bloom. It was purely by accident that I looked up at the window of the tower. He was standing there, just....staring out at the town." That black eye closed. " He had such lonely eyes."

The pink-haired girl smiled sadly, standing up and kneeling beside Kakashi's legs, taking one of his hands into her own. " Do you know his name?"

" No one does." Itachi muttered, picking up one of the playing cards and watching as it disintegrated between his pale fingers. " The girl, however, went by the name of Rin Vanhoughen. A vile, twisted little girl born from the witch Anilian." He looked up at their confused faces. " What?"

" How do you know this?" Neji asked.

" Itachi's ability to study is fascinating." Kisame smirked, " All he did was read a book on the flight here."

" Anilian?" Kakashi muttered, scratching his chin in thought. " She died.....centuries ago. There's no way she could have given birth."

Itachi stood up, grabbed his suitcase and rummaged around until he pulled out a black novel. "Saori gave it to me before we departed." He cleared his throat. " Not the first Anilian. The line was continued through a young boy. He was an illegitimate son of a plantation owner down south. Anilian Codder, his descendant, met Balter Vanhoughen at the bakery shop in this very town. Five years later, Rin was born. Unfortunately for them, the dormant witch blood awakened in her generation."

" That explains alot, then." Sakura stated, releasing Kakashi's hand and moving around the room. Hands behind her back. " If the boy didn't want to marry her, and the fire killed them both...she could have cursed him."

" But why?" Neji asked, clasping his hands together and glaring at the table top.

Kisame shrugged, " Maybe we should ask him."

Neji snorted, " You're joking, right?" Silver eyes rolled, " He isn't going to let anyone in that tower."

" Finnigan said it was always locked." Kakashi said, " He tried numerous times to open it with the key, but it wouldn't budge."

" Have you tried?" Sakura whispered, stopping in front of the window and looking back and a bewildered Kakashi.

" Me? Why me?"

" You're one of few that have seen him." She turned back to watch the fast falling snow. " He had to have known you were in the garden the day you saw him. If he didn't want you to see him, he wouldn't have stayed in sight."

" She has a point." Itachi nodded, " You've been staying here for a while, if he didn't like you, he would have gotten rid of you a long time ago."

Kakashi gave them disbelieving looks before letting out a heavy sigh. " Fine. I'll try tomorrow night. For now, I'd assume you'd want to check out the castle?"

Itachi's eyes strayed to the clock on the mantle by the doorway. " It's nearly nine. Kisame and I shall stay near the stairs, since it's Sakura and Neji's first case, they can stay closer to the tower." Sakura nodded, gathering up her case and smiling down at Neji.

" I shouldn't be excited, but I am."

" You want to be burned alive." Neji snorted, picking up his own case and following his pink-haired partner out the door.

Kakashi watch as they argued up the stairs, then he turned back to Kisame and Itachi. " They don't seem to be.....like you."

" That's because they aren't." Itachi sighed, sliding a hand through his hair and releasing it from the small ponytail at the base of his neck. " We found them while investigating The Weeping Angels."

" No way." Kakashi gasped, " Those still exist?"

" Zetsu heard a rumor that they were still residing in Torrid Falls, which was where we found Sakura partnered up with Neji. They were already deeply involved, she lost her best friend." Kisame rubbed his temples, blue eyes sliding over to his silent partner. " They're smart, cunning and give us a little bit of humanity back."

Itachi chuckled darkly, shaking his head. " We didn't want them on a case so soon. They're not ready, but Pein thought...that this would be something easy for them to start out on. They have no protection, no skills...no powers."

Kakashi leaned back in his chair, tilting his head to the right slightly, " If they survived the The Angels, then this should be a breeze."

Itachi's eyes lifted, red flickering in their depths. " _If_ everything is as it seems."

--------------------------

Was it still snowing?

A cool breeze drifted in through the cracks in the walls, sending blank sheets of paper fluttering off a desk and landing on the floor. An exasperated sigh filled the air, soft footsteps falling against the weak floor as pale hands began to gather up the scattered paper.

The body jerked in surprise as the clock downstairs went off five times. A name was screamed and the familiar crash of glass on wood was heard. The papers dropped and those soft footfalls headed for the door, down the long flight of stairs and out into the blackened hallway.

Tattered pants dragged across the burnt rugs as bare feet walked silently down the long hall. They stopped before he reached the stairs, staring down at the five people standing in the large foyer.

" Kakashi, what the hell was that?" A brunette hissed.

The silver-haired man, he looked oddly familiar. Dark eyes narrowed, ah. The man from the garden. His fingers curled around the banister, watching and listening as that deep baritone explained his odd clocks to the newcomers.

He pressed his free fingers to his lips and whispered, " Kakashi..." Those lips twitched upwards slightly before he turned and disappeared into the shadows.

---------------------------

Sakura winced as ten chimes echoed through her room, the door that lead to the tower slammed over and over. Her eyes stared out the window, the sky an inky black and littered in winter stars. Snow fell slowly past the window, landing on the balcony and below. Her heart ached as the last slam made it self known by shaking the entire castle.

Jade eyes lowered as strong arms slide around her waist and warm lips pressed a gentle kiss to her throat. " It's a lonely feeling." He whispered, silver eyes watching the snow fall. " I couldn't describe it, when I looked at the tower...but it's easy to define now."

Her hand slide over the ones around her waist, lacing their fingers together. " Do you think he's trapped up there? All alone in a dark room?" She clenched her hand tight around his own, " I don't like knowing he's all alone up there."

" Maybe that's your power. " Neji chuckled, closing his eyes and pressing his cheek to hers. " You're sensitive to peoples emotions. It's one of the things I love about you."

She laughed softly, turning in his arms and kissing him gently before moving away. " I'm going downstairs for some water, want some?"

He nodded, taking a seat on the bed and kissing her hand before she departed from the room.

The hall was dark as she walked it. The blackened rugs ended half-way to the staircase and each step she took gave her the feeling that she was missing something important. It just...ended at the painting of a young boy and girl. They looked right proper, dressed in fine clothes and with forlorn smiles on their faces.

Sakura felt like she was back at the Uchiha Manor, staring up at the ripped faces of a family she couldn't save. Her fingers lifted towards the frame, wiping the dust off of a golden nameplate at the base. It read: Iruka and Rin Vanhoughen in thin letters. Their birth dates were written beneath their names along with their death dates.

Those dates were written in what looked to be permanent marker.

December 24th, 1880.

Her fingertips brushed the jaw of the standing boy. In the picture, he was young, hardly in his tenth year. She could almost see his dark hair, tied back in a neat bow, wise brown eyes staring ahead in determination while facing down his fate.

She moved forward, only to pause as soft music drifted into her ears. Her hand stopped in mid-air as it retreated from the painting, head turning to the stairs. Music?

It was wrong to jog, she knew it, but she did it anyways. Down the stairs, through the foyer and into the ballroom. A large black Grand Piano sat in the far left corner. Mirrors were on every wall. Some cracks, others faded with age.

The music had stopped the second she had opened the creaking door.

" Hey, what are you doing up?" Kakashi's sleep-rough voice made Sakura gasp and spin around, pressing a hand to her fast beating heart.

" You have got to stop doing that." She whispered furiously, glaring up at him. " That is the second time-"

Kakashi's bored gaze lifted, widening slightly before returning to it's normal gaze. The music had started again, soft, inviting. Uplifting. Sakura moved to turn around, but his hand on her should stopped any movement. " Don't look."

She swallowed, nodding slightly. " He only wants you to see him play." Her breathing evened out, fear replaced with wonder at the beautiful music being played behind her. " What does he look like?"

" Better than the picture." Kakashi whispered, and Sakura could tell his entire world was focused on the man across the room. " Except, there's a scar across his nose. He's dressed in clothing ruined beyond belief." The next stanza was softer, beckoning.

" It's such a sad song." Sakura muttered, lowering her eyes to the floor.

The music stopped again and her shoulders tensed as barefoot steps echoed in her mind. They grew closer and closer, her eyes darting up to Kakashi's and fear quickly replacing the wonder from before.

" Ka-"

" _Kakashi...._" The voice was as soft as silk, gentle as a spring breeze and so achingly lonely it made tears come to her eyes. A graceful hand, so not ghost-like at all, moved past her head to trail long fingers over the taller mans pale jaw-line. _" That is your name?_"

Kakashi nodded once, and could feel the warmth of those fingers on his face. Was this beautiful male really a ghost? " And you...?"

Even his smile was breathtaking. "_Iruka._"

The moment was shattered like broken glass as a loud chime echoed through the castle. Once. _Twice_. **Three times**.

Kakashi nearly reached out as Iruka's hand retreated. " No-wait.."

_" It is time....."_

_To Be Continued........._

So this WILL be a three-shot. Damn. I was hopping it wouldn't come to that. Sorry for the delay, I was gone all weekend, then my boyfriend came over for a few days, and THEN. My computer crashed. I lost EVERYTHING. All my pictures and the original first half of this chapter. But personally, this was alot better than what I had written before.

Now, I should have the next part up in the next few days, hopefully. It IS thanksgiving vacation after all, so it's not like I have anything better to do than EAT. EAT. EAT. lol

Let me know what you think!

Blessed Be,

Angel


	5. Courter's Curse Part Three

**Couter's Curse**

_Part Three_

Sakura spun on her heels, the figure standing behind her suddenly dissolving into mist before her eyes. The mirrors along the walls cracked before they fell to the ground, sending crystal shards across the old wood floor.

A female's screams reverberated through the castle, shaking the foundation and causing the chandelier to fall from the ceiling once again.

Kakashi wrapped a hand around Sakura's wrist and dragged her to and up the stairs. " We need to get into a room before the fire spreads."

She tugged in the opposite direction, back to the tower. " No, Neji's-"

" If he's smart, He'll stay in that room." Kakashi growled, tugging her into a room closest to the stair case. He slammed the door, locked it and stared at the old wood as a loud crash sounded from the tower above them.

Sakura turned to the window, clearly angry at the silver-haired man. The snow was falling faster than earlier. Hadn't it been calm and quiet? She stepped closer to the window.

" It won't open, if that's what You're going to do." Kakashi said, keeping one hand on the door knob and the other on the door.

Jade eyes never strayed from the obvious storm. " How come?"

" The storm is part of the fire. It was the first blizzard of the winter season, so it's only right that the curse bring that up as well. " He glanced back at her, " But what you see is not what's really going on outside. It's the same slow snow that we get every winter."

" You mean....there hasn't been a blizzard in almost a hundred years?" She whispered incredulously, " This just keeps getting weirder and weirder."

" Get used to it if you're going to work with Akatsuki." He chuckled, his hand jerking back at the door knob grew flame-hot. " Shit, the fire's already spread."

" When does it stop?" Sakura asked, glancing down at her wrist watch. " Oh you have got to be kidding." She shook her wrist, tapped on the glass surface then scowled at the frozen ticker. " It messes with my clocks as well?"

" I said _every_ clock in the house. That includes those who bring one with them."

She plopped down into a plush red chair and buried her face in her hands. He let her sit there, the sound of crackling flames down the hall and horrid screams swimming around them, as though they weren't coming from hundreds of feet above. Her hand shook slightly as she brushed pink strands out of her face and lifted green eyes. " You know, when I helped Itachi defeat the Angel's...I wasn't expecting to join them. When they asked, I knew it was because we knew too much."

Kakashi blinked before pulling up another chair and sitting across from her. " I don't think they realize how important you two are yet." He laced his fingers together and set his chin on them. " They're not used to being around.....humans."

" You make it sound as though they're not humans." She whispered darkly, those headstrong green eyes turning murderous.

One black eye studied her momentarily before he smiled behind his hands. " This would be why they keep you around. Your humanity is a reminder that a part, no matter how big or small that is, of them is still human." His smile softened considerably, " You wanted this mission to get away from them, didn't you?"

She looked insulted, angry and then guilty. " I suppose." A soft sigh escaped before she looked down at her own hands, spreading the fingers out. " They're chaotic and messy, loud and unorganized......I'm so used to-"

" Being pampered." He winced inwardly at the glare thrown his way, " What I mean is, you're from a wealthy breed, you're used to being waited on, not waiting on others."

The guilty look was back and worse than the first one, " I want to be useful for something other than cooking meals and cleaning up messes."

" So what if you don't have any powers." Kakashi said, sitting up straight and noting that the clocks were ticking again. " Maybe that's exactly what the Akatsuki needs, a less violent way to solving cases." He stretched a hand out and tapped a finger to her temple, then her chest, " By using your head and heart, not your strength and power."

She smiled slowly, before sniffing slightly and turning her eyes to the door. " It must be over, I can't smell smoke anymore." She lifted herself from her seat and opened the door slowly. The hall looked no different than it did an hour ago. The burn marks ended right at the picture and she could make out the chandelier back on the dragon ceiling.

Two door opened down the hall from them, Itachi stepping out and peering at Sakura through the veil of his dark hair. Neji let out a wallop of air as he spotted Sakura. " You two alright?"

" We should be asking you that." Sakura breathed, hurrying over to him and gladly letting his arms close around her. " Was it hot?"

" Sweltering." he muttered into her hair, " I couldn't get out of the room."

" I knew this would be a problem." Itachi muttered, pressing fingers to his temples and rubbing. " Kisame's already asleep, he sleeps like a rock, I swear."

" Look who's talking." Sakura giggled, then noticed the weariness in his eyes. " Itachi....are you alright?"

He blinked twice, black eyes going from red to black each time he blinked. " Just really, really tired." His fingers pressed harder, " And my head is killing me."

She jerked away from Neji, pressing a hand to the pale Uchiha's forehead, " You're running a fever." She whispered fervently, grabbing onto his wrist and dragging him to his bed, where Kisame was sitting up slowly.

" His eyes are shifting colors." Sakura stated firmly, shoving Itachi on top of the blue-haired man. Itachi's eyes instantly changed from red to black and his body relaxed against his partners. " There we go."

Kisame, instantly awake after hearing about Itachi's eyes, ran a hand down the younger Male's arm with his left hand, the right pushing himself up against the headboard. " Is the fire over?"

" Yea." Neji sighed, peering down the hall from his position beside Kakashi outside the bedroom door. " It doesn't look any different out here though." He pushed a hand through his hair, " Why did Itachi's eyes do that again?"

" It means something evil is in this castle." Kakashi muttered.

Sakura nodded, " And it knows we're here to stop it."

-------------------------------------------

The candle's were low, a half-empty glass of water sat to the right of his left hand. He fiddled with the pen in his hands, lifted spirled eyes to the small orange fox curled up on the rug by the fireplace. It's chest was rising and falling slowly, eyes that were the color of glowing embers were closed in sleep.

He set the pen down, clearing his throat. " Kyuubi."

The fox jerked awake, head turning towards the orange-haired man, the silver crystal glinting in the fires light. " Yes, master?"

" I have a job for you." Pein whispered, lifting a small tube. " Inside is a letter for Tsunade Sanin. I want you to go to Torrid Falls and deliver this to her, make sure no one sees you." Kyuubi nodded, hopping onto the desk and turning his back to his master as Pein tied the tube around his stomach. " After that, I want you to meet up with Sakura and her group in Forlorn."

Kyuubi blinked, turning his head as the strap was secured, " Are you worried about her, master?"

" Not at all." He ran a hand between the foxes ears, Kyuubi purring slightly, " I have a feeling, that she will be needing you soon."

Kyuubi sighed, turning around to fully face the pierced man. " Are you sure?" When Pein nodded, the fox bowed it's head, " As you wish, master." Then he leap gracefully from the desk and slipped through the wall as easily as walking through a door.

Pein placed his hands on the desk, eyes roving over the dim room.

_Soon. So very, very soon._

------------------------------

The castle was so very, very sad and lonely, Sakura thought to herself, staring up at it from her spot beside the bakery. Kisame had informed her that Itachi's sudden color change was not only from the presence of evil, but the lack of a decent meal. So, even though the worry of Kakashi going into the tower was looming over their heads, a big meal was exactly what was needed.

Neji was back at the castle, helping Itachi and Kisame set up a game plan for the evening. Kakashi, however, was peering into another old clock shop. She tilted her head to the side, watching him as he pressed a hand to the glass. " See something you like?" He jerked slightly at the sound of her voice.

" Ah..." Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. " I was-"

She stepped up beside him, arms full of bakery and grocery goods. The shop was very small behind the glass display of small clocks and broken watches. " Do you like clocks?"

" I never have before." He muttered with a sigh, " But lately, it's like I'm drawn to them. Like-"

" They're holding some sort of secret." Sakura whispered suddenly, eyes widening at the window display.

" Huh?"

A smile broke out on her face and she very nearly dropped the bags in her arms. She moved around him, pushing the store's door opened with her hip and ignoring the small ring that accompanied her entering. An old woman sat at a desk, polishing cloth in one hand and the other holding up an old wooden mantle clock.

Long grayish hair was thrown up into a messy bun and she was wearing clothes that had seen much better days. Sakura cleared her throat, causing the old lady to jump a foot out of her seat. " Sorry to startle you..."

" Ah. No, no deary." The lady laughed, setting her cloth down and turning to them. Sakura noticed there was a golden cross around her neck. " Well, well, Kakashi, find a girl that suits your tastes?"

" No!" Kakashi shouted, waving his hands in front of him, " This is Kitty, she's here to help out at the castle."

A gray eyebrow rose slowly, " Kitty? Now I know that isn't your real name." She shook her head, standing up slowly and walking around the counter. " Alright, what do you need?"

" I wanted to know who made the clocks in The Vanhoughen castle." Sakura said, shifting the bags around in her arms. Kakashi rolled his eye and took some from her. " They truly fascinate me and Kakashi here told me you would be the one to ask."

" Ah....well, that would be Master Iruka." The old lady nodded, her eyes giving away that she was very proud of him. " He, although a wonderful pianist, was a genius when it came to making clocks. Oh he made all kinds." She let out a dreamy sigh, " he could carve the wood, build the mechanics and sell it to just about any person."

" Oh," Sakura muttered, " Is he the boy that Balter took in?"

" Why, yes." The lady clasped her hands together, " Such a shame that he died in his twenties, he was such a bright boy. His future would have been magnificent." She let out a sad sigh now, her blue eyes meeting Sakura's. " Are you here to save him?"

Sakura looked from the old lady, to Kakashi, who was looking innocently out the display window. The pinkette hesitated before nodding slowly, " Yes. Yes I am."

" Then I'll tell you this." The old Lady whispered, lifting a wrinkled hand and touching Sakura's left arm. " He wasn't ready to take on a wife, with so many dreams he wanted fulfilled. Rin didn't understand that, so she lashed out. The last design he brought to me, was a pocket watch. He had found it thrown away in the woods and was so determined to fix it." The grip on her arm tightened and Sakura winced, " It was the only clock he never finished."

They returned home after that visit and Sakura got busy in the large kitchen. It wouldn't be much more than gourmet sandwiches and hot soup, but it was better than eating their flimsy supply of cheese and crackers. Kakuzu was such a tightwad.

Neji set some plates out in the parlor room, where Kisame and Kakashi were engaged in a battle of wills with a chess board laid out before them. Itachi was propped up against Kisame's back, knees close to his chest and a book resting on his knees.

They hadn't discussed their plan farther than Sakura giving them the news from the old Clock shop. So she had gone ahead and fixed dinner. Food in exchange for thought her mother had always said.

Sakura breezed into the room, carrying a plate of finely cut chicken sandwiches in one hand and a wooden bowl of sald in the other. She set them on the small table just as Neji walked in with the large pot of vegetable soup.

" That smells wonderful." Kakashi smiled, not looking up from his game in case Kisame cheated.

" It is wonderful." Came Itachi's mummers from behind Kisame.

Sakura blinked, before smiling warmly and spooning some into a bowl for the relaxed man. " This would have to be the first time you've complimented my cooking." She handed the bowl to him, " Do you want a sandwich?"

Coal eyes lifted slowly from the page they were focused on and met green. " No mayonnaise?"

" Not for you." She laughed grabbing one from the left side of the platter and setting it on a small plate. Itachi marked his page on the book, set it aside and took the food. " Ah! Almost forgot the drinks." Sakura gasped, hurrying out of the room.

Neji watched her go, letting out a sigh. " What does she need a power for?"

" I know, " Kisame agreed, abandoning his game to take a bite of one of the sandwiches. " This is the best power anyone can have."

--------------------

The sun was setting, Kakashi noticed distractedly, leaning back in his chair and staring up at the red ceiling. It was near two in the morning, Sakura was flipping through some old record books from the library next door and Neji was seated by the large window, watching the snow fall.

" Are you ready?" Kisame asked, his shadow falling over Kakashi as he stood in front of the man. " You can always back out."

Kakashi gave him an odd look, " You mean I could just leave, get out of here and let you guys handle all the work?"

" It's your choice." Neji stated, moving away from his window spot. " You're not apart of this organization, it's not your job to do our job."

" I want to do it." Kakashi sighed, standing up and walking out of the parlor and into the foyer.

" But why?" Kisame whispered, once Kakashi was out of hearing range. " Why are you doing this?"

" Because he's in love with him." Came Sakura's voice from across the room. All four males turned her way, as she was seated on another coffee table, book in hand and a pile of others on her right side. She looked up, " Don't judge." The book was tossed to the ground and she rose from her seat, following Kakashi, she turned and smiled at Kisame, " You fell in love with an angel, after all."

The blue-haired man opened his mouth, before closing it and following the pink-haired girl up the stairs.

They found Kakashi in front of the stairway to the tower. It winded up into what looked to be snail shells design. It was getting far too close to three, so Sakura shoved him up the first steps and walked up behind him. Neji, Kisame and Itachi taking up the rear.

It was a long journey, but once they reached the door, Kakashi had long since swallowed his fear and turned the knob. To their surprise, it was unlocked. He gave Sakura a quick nod before sliding into the room and shutting the door behind him.

------------------

The room was dark, except for a lone candle atop an old burnt desk. Paper was scattered across the floor, ripped, torn, burnt or wet. Some had writing, others didn't. He stepped forward, to the light and froze when he noticed the dark figure hunched over the desk.

There was a quill in his hand and he was scribbling fast across the paper.

Kakashi stuck his hands into his pockets and stepped in front of the desk. " You do realize that the ink bottle is empty, right?"

The figure gasped, head lifting fast and dark brown eyes wide as they started up at the taller male. Brown hair was free from the tail it had been in the night in the ballroom, Kakashi mused, it was everywhere. The scar running over his nose scrunched up as Iruka looked at him.

" How did you get in here?"

Kakashi jerked his thumb to the door behind them, " Through there."

Those eyes narrowed and damned if it wasn't cute. " No ones ever gotten through that door before. I keep it locked."

" Guess I'm just special." Kakashi gave him a lopsided smirk, " Or were you expecting me?"

" Not at all." Iruka sniffed, returning to his writing.

" Why don't you look like a ghost?"

The question made the quill pause above the paper and the shorter man let out a slow sigh. He set the quill back into the ink bottle before looking back up at Kakashi. " Why won't you leave?" his voice was whispered now, those dark eyes pleading, " What is it about me that keeps you here?"

" What is it about me that keeps you from sending me away?" Kakashi countered softly, rounding the desk and standing beside the seated man.

Iruka watched him warily, turning his chair to face the older man. " I can't do this. Please don't make me do this." He shook his head, standing up quickly and moving to walk past him. Kakashi caught his wrist, stopping all movement and glancing down at the shaking man.

" Don't make you do what?"

Brown eyes closed as if in pain, before opening slowly and peering up at the silver-haired man. " Don't make me love you."

------------------

" He's been in there for a while." Itachi muttered, pushing the arm of his sweater up and looking down at his wristwatch. " It's fifteen minutes to three, we have to get out of here before the fire starts."

Sakura sighed, " I don't really know if we should touch the door." She reached for his cautiously, before retreating slightly and then going back. " Maybe we should.."

" Sakura." Neji's voice held irritated authority.

She sniffed slightly, sending them all a glare before wrapping her hand around the doorknob.

Something jerked awake inside her stomach as soon as her skin touched the knob. It ripped at her insides and burned behind her eyes. She raised her a hands instantly, clawing at her sockets in a frenzy to stop the burning sensation.

Then, as soon as it appeared, it was gone.

She opened her eyes slowly and gasped, jerking backwards and running into a wall. It was outside the castle, the wind humming around her, biting at her face and bare arms. There was a handsome man with his arms full of what looked to be a baby.

Green eyes squinted, it was a baby girl!

The scene faded, morphed into the parlor room where a beautiful woman, the handsome man and two young kids sat in the room. The girl was dressed up and the boy in rags.

" We have to to do this." the older man, Sakura assumed was Balter Vanhoughen, said to his tearing wife. Anilian sniffled, wiping a tear away.

" But Balter...it's a lie."

Balter shook his head, " No one can know he is of your bloodline. They'll hunt him down for sure. " He stared down at a young Iruka. " You understand, don't you son?"

Iruka nodded, turning to Rin, " But do you think labeling her as a dormant witch is also wise?"

It changed again, and Sakura realized with horrid realization that Rin Vanhoughen had not been Balter's real daughter. In fact, he'd never had a daughter, but a son.

_Iruka_ was the witch!

---------------

When her eyes opened again, Neji was panicking above her, hands shaking against her arms. Itachi was standing over her, pale hand against her forehead. She cracked her eyes open slowly, blinking and swatting his hand away. " Oh stop that."

" Oh thank God." Neji whispered, pressing a kiss to her temple. " What the hell happened?"

" I can explain." The melodic voice had Kisame groaning.

" What on earth are you doing here?" Itachi hissed as the orange fox jumped into Sakura's lap. The pink-haired girl blinked, not quite sure where to put her hands.

" Who are you?" She asked, tilting her head.

" Kyuubi." Ember red eyes studied her, " You don't remember a thing, do you?" When she gave him a puzzled look, he sighed, " This is why I was sent. It seems, as Pein predicted that you my dear, have some kind of seeing ability."

" Oh you have got to be..." Neji muttered.

Kyuubi stood on his hind legs before pressing his forehead to her own. All the visions came rushing back into her mind. He backed off, " Pein was hoping it wouldn't happen during this mission but-"

" Iruka is the witch!" Sakura shouted, knocking the fox off of her and jerking on the doorknob. She pulled at it insistantly, but it wouldn't budge. " He can't stay in there! KAKASHI!"

" That can't be!" Itachi snarled, " Rin is Anilian's..."

" No! I saw it! They switched them around to hide Iruka's bloodline!" Sakura slammed her fist against the door.

" Shit." Kisame curse, but before he could go help Sakura, a loud chime echoed through the air, throwing them backwards.

Once.

Twice..

Three times...

The girl appeared out of nowhere, storming up the stairs, black hair in a braid down her back, red dress gliding across the stone steps. Her eyes were a warm hazel color, and very, very angry. She walked right past their frozen forms, beating on the door. " Iruka! Open up!"

There was no answer, so she jerked the door open and slammed it behind her.

" We need to go, _now._" Itachi hissed, grabbing Sakura's wrist.

" But Kakashi-" She scopped up Kyuubi, and grabbed Neji's wrist along the way.

" It's up to him to figure this out." Kyuubi muttered, watching the door with Sakura as they descended the stairs.

------------------------

" You're in love with me?" Kakashi muttered, placing a finger under Iruka's chin and smiling down at the now blushing man.

" O-of course not, idiot..." Those brown eyes pained, " You need to get out of here, I'm not who you think I-"

The clocks chime went off, echoing through the small room. Kakashi blinked, eyes moving to where the chimes were coming from. It lead to a small golden pocket watch on top a pile of papers. It was closed, rusted shut it looked like.

" You have to leave!" Iruka pushed at his chest, trying to get him to the door. " Before she comes, _please_." He begged, " I can't lose you."

" And I won't leave you behind." Kakashi stated firmly, standing his ground. " Not until you tell me the truth Iruka. What happened?"

" I....I...." He stammered, tears forming in his eyes, " I'm the witch." He whispered, " I did this to myself. I tried to stop the fire, I needed to finish the clock..but..something went wrong!" He didn't want to look up into that angry stare. He didn't....

" Iruka! Open this door now!"

" Rin!" Iruka gasped, moving past Kakashi to the door. He turned back to the stiff figure behind his desk. Who was that again...? His head shook in confusion, running to the door just as Rin pushed through.

"You selfish son of a bitch!" Rin snarled, grabbing the nearest vase and throwing it past Iruka's head. " I had to go through hell to keep your little secret and I don't even get half of the inheritance!" Another vase and a book. The book hit the candle on the desk, tipping it over catching the numerous sheets of paper on fire.

" You agreed to this!" Iruka snarled, blocking another book. " Father never said anything about giving you something for your trouble!"

She screeched, jumping at him, a glass shard from a vase in her hand. " Stay still and let me give you another one of those ugly scars! Then we'll _both_ have wounds that won't heal!" It descended and he jerked his head away, shoving her off of him and rolling across the floor.

The fire was spreading and Kakashi could feel the heat, hear the shouts and smell the smoke. But he couldn't seem to move.

Who was the bad guy?

Iruka? Or Rin?

He lifted his eyes to the watch on the desk. The flames didn't touch it, didn't even lick against it, like a barrier was formed around it. His eye widened, that was it!

The _watch!_

His hand shot out, snatching the chain and turning to the two fighting siblings across the burning room. They didn't even seem to notice everything was up in flames. He put the watch in his palm and used his other hand to open it.

With a weak click, rust fragments fell onto his skin as the top popped open, revealing a perfectly ticking clock, whereas all the others were frozen in time. This was causing the reenactment. This stupid, worthless thing was the cause of the pain and the hurt and the death.

He looked up, walked across the room and grabbed the brown-haired man by his arm, jerking him against his body. And after cupping his cheeks and pressing a passionate kiss against an instantly responding mouth, he pressed the open watch into Iruka's hand.

The brown-haired man gasped, lifting it. Rin, who was standing with her glass shard still raised, let out a loud cry before ripping the eye patch off of Kakashi's face and then dissolving into smoke. The fire cleared instantly, leaving Iruka and Kakashi standing in the middle of a room that looked as though fire had never touched it.

Iruka smiled softly, cupping the old watch between his hands, tears leaking from the corner of his eyes. He looked up, " Thank you. " On of his hands lifted, brushing a hand against the scar over Kakashi's left eye. " Thank you so, _so_ much."

He was engulfed in a blinding white light and the watch fell with a loud thunk on the floor.

Kakashi bent forward, lifting it up by the chain and gasping as the rust faded away to revel a perfectly unrusted, shiny gold finish.

He rubbed a thumb over the ancient carvings of the golden object, trying to swallow the tight, lump in his throat. His eyes burned with tears, closing and walking out of the tower room.

--------------------

" So, did you finish it?" Pein asked, standing up behind his desk and staring down at the five Akatsuki members.

" Yes sir." Neji stated.

" The conclusion?"

Sakura took in a deep breath before explaining, " The story was backwards, Iruka had been the descendant of the Anilian bloodline, so they used Rin to cover it up. Rin, jealous of not getting some of the inheritance after giving up her freedom, was driven to murder. Iruka's fear of not finishing the watch, must have triggered the bloodline to reawaken, but it wasn't potent enough to stop the fire. Instead, it kept Iruka alive, at a cost."

She glanced at Itachi, who nodded at her to continue. " Well, the magic trapped him in the castle, to relive the fight every morning. His life was clocks, so it was only right that during his eternal walk in time, that the clocks move with him. Kakashi was the only one that Iruka would let close. In the end, Kakashi opened the old watch and Iruka...well..." She scratched her cheek. " Iruka became the watch."

Pein looked from each member, to the fox sitting at Sakura's feet. When Itachi and Kisame nodded, Pein sat down. " Where's the watch?"

" er..." They all started.

" We left it with Kakashi." Kisame cut in, seeming to be the only one brave enough to face Pein's wrath if the man had wanted evidence that it was over.

" Why?" Pein growled.

" Wouldn't you want the one you love beside you?" Itachi muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. " Even if they're not human?"

Sakura's head snapped to his direction before a smile lite up her face.

Pein gave the Uchiha an odd stare before waving them away. " Fine. Fine. Sakura, I'd like dinner by seven."

" Yes sir!" She smiled, watching as Kisame, Itachi and Neji walked out of the room. She turned back to Pein, skipping to his desk and sliding a slip of paper across to him. " Kakashi said, you're going to want to call this person." Her body straightened and she headed out the door, Kyuubi behind her.

Pein waited until the door closed before picking up his phone and dialing. The area code was odd, almost out of country. It rang and rang..

" _Hello, Konan speaking."_

Spiral eyes widened, before closing at the feeling that voice gave him. " Ah...Konan."

There was a sharp gasp, "_Pein?"_

-------------------

When Sakura stepped into the dining room, there was food everywhere. On the walls, the table, covering the floor and on all five men in the kitchen. Deidara was trying to help Sasori carry the plates, Zetsu's black side was yelling at the green onions, Hidan was shaking a Ladle at Kakuzu who was sleeping in one of the chairs.

" _Oh My god_." Kisame gaped as he, Itachi and Neji stepped up behind her.

The room froze as all eyes moved to Sakura, who's head was bowed, pink hair hiding her face. Neji backed away slowly, Kisame and Itachi being wise and doing the same. She stepped forward, shoulders shaking before running straight for Deidara and Sasori. She crashed into them, sending plates flying, her arms wrapping around Deidara and crying into his chest.

" Sakura-chan?" Sasori whispered in his usual quiet voice, ignoring the broken plates and leaning over Deidara's shoulder. Hidan left Kakuzu sleeping and hurried over.

" Are you alright?" Hidan gasped, kneeling down beside a shocked Deidara.

Sakura sniffled, her arms tightening, " Idiots. Idiots. _**idiots!**__"_

Deidara smiled, wrapping his arms around the crying girl and let out a sigh. " We missed you too Sakura-chan."

Owari

Ahhh. It took me HOURS to write this. And I was NOT turning this into a four-shot. OMG. I would have beat my head against a wall if I did that.

So...I hope you enjoyed it. I already have an Idea for the next one, but not until my others are updated! So be patient those that do read this. I might actually go back and combine the first two parts to make one long one. Dunno yet.

This one wasn't all that 'suspensful' more..heartfelt. And Ugh. Yaoi's in it. I was trying to keep it out as much as possible and keep their relationships to a friendship level. But there's more het than yaoi in this, so no worries. It will STAY a Neji/Sakura

Hope You Enjoyed!

Blessed be,

Angel


	6. The Piano's Last Note Part One

Summary: _Confined to the Akatsuki hideout until she's gained full control of her new found powers, Sakura does some snooping and comes across an old piano in the attic. But little did she know that the beautiful instrument held a dark past and a terrifying secret._

**The Piano's Last Note**

She content for now, Sakura realized, staring out at the expanse of snow from her second floor bedroom window. From where she sat, curled up in a green chair, Zetsu was tending to his winter plants, stomping his foot on the ones that seemed to be dieing. Hidan was chopping wood with that odd looking axe of his, arguing with Kakuzu at the same time.

The house was quiet, bare of the usual bantering between Neji and Kyuubi. Those two hadn't gotten along since the second Pein requested that the fox sleep in their room. Sakura had agreed, she did need to be monitored with the strange dreams that popped up now and again. Neji had protested, hollered right into Peins face.

Bad Idea.

The orange-haired man had sent Neji to give a report to his cousin, Hinata, who was keeping an eye on things in Torrid Falls. Of course, she wasn't a member, but as Neji's closest companion, she was a valuable source of information. Plus, no one knew of her spy status, which kept her safe.

" Mistress?" Kyuubi's melodic voice questioned from his curled up position in front of the fireplace. His eyes were on her, worry in thier depths. " Are you alright?"

Sakura tilted her head, pink hair falling to the side as she smiled. " I'm fine. Just watching the snow fall." She turned back to the window, tugging her blue blanket tight under her chin. " Do you think they're alright?"

" Kakashi and Iruka?"

She nodded faintly.

" I don't see why not." He padded across the room, jumping up onto the window frame and staring out at the never ending expanse of white. " Once a mission is over, not much is known about the after part. Just that it ended."

A small sigh escaped, her jade eyes closing slowly, " Where did it come from?"

" Pein thinks you are destined to be their light." He muttered, turning to face her now open eyes. " You knew exactly what to do when it came to facing The Angels, you went head to head with a two hundred year old curse and gave another man a reason to stay alive." His tail swished against the glass, " You were born to do this."

She smiled slightly, stretching out a hand and scratching him behind the ears. He purred, rubbing into the hold. " That didn't answer my question."

" You will know, when you are ready." Ember eyes darted back to the window. " And now is not that time."

A tentative knock drew her head around, dropping an arm over the back of her chair as she faced the door now. " Who is it?"

The door creaked open and Deidara's blonde head poked through, " Sakura-chan? Are you busy?"

Sakura laughed softly, standing up, blanket wrapped around her and she walked over to the door. " Nope. Is something wrong?"

" Ah, we're leaving on a mission." He smiled, " Sasori and I." The smile faltered, " It's a case that deals with the past...so I asked Pein if you could come-"

" He said no?" She asked, patting his hand, " Don't worry, I won't blow away if I have to stay in the hideout for a while longer."

He nodded, the smile returning, " It's a long one, so....bye." She followed him out the door, waving as he met Sasori at the staircase and hurried down. A sigh escaped her lips, she looked down to see Kyuubi seated at her feet.

" If I didn't know better, I'd think he was my best friend."

Kyuubi chuckled, " You'd be his first female best friend. Sasori will forever hold the best friend title." He started walking, stopping when he didn't hear her following. " Mistress?"

Her fingers were bone white as she gripped the cloth, staring down at him with sad eyes. _" Why won't it stop_?"

" Sakura...."

" _Save me...."_ One of her hands released the blanket, reaching it out to him. "_Don't leave me here._"

" Dammit Kuzu! I just made sure those logs were dry! Now they're all covered in snow and water!" Hidan's loud voice drifted up the stairs, making the pink-haired girl jump and scowl.

" Stop being do LOUD Hidan!" She shouted, walking past Kyuubi and beating her hand on the banister.

Hidan sent her a string of curse words, gaining a infuriated growl and a new set of words thrown right back at him. Kyuubi watched as she descended the stairs, fist shaking. He dashed down the hall, under a small table, through a tiny hole in the wall and into a dark room.

" Master Pein?" He whispered, stepping in front of the desk and bowing his head.

Spiraling eyes glanced up from whatever they were reading to stare at the bowing fox. " Yes?"

" There is a Ghost in the house again."

-----------------------

Tsunade let out a weary sigh, pressing her fingers to her temples and attempting to rub her headache away. A month as the mayor of Torrid Falls and things were slowly starting to just...crumble. After she had received the 'leader's' letter, her mind had not be eased at all.

Somewhere, out there, Sakura was risking her life for someone else's mistake? How could Sakura do something like that? And Neji as well? Both from such wealthy, esteemed family's. High up on the corporate food chain and just...gone?

Explaining her disappearance had not been easy. Her parents almost didn't buy the girl eloping, but accepted it as an act of rebellion.

They were convinced she would return.

The blond woman pulled up a key from around her neck and pulled a small safe from under her desk. She unlocked it, set in the code and popped it open. There was nothing in it, however, she ran her finger along a seam and a small door popped open.

Inside were the only two letters she had received in the past eight months from her niece.

She pulled Pein's out, opening it slowly and heaving another sigh.

_Dear Tusnade Sanin,_

_My name is not important, however my status in Sakura's life is. I am the Leader of Akatsuki, founder and everything else. She is doing very well, if you are worried. A fine cook, some of the men think of her as some sort of mother or a sister._

_I have sent her on her first case. Neji is with her, fear not, I would never send any of my men alone, as long as they are going no where dangerous. But there is something I would like you to know._

_She does not know, that I recruited her. We have been searching, my guardian Kyuubi and I, for nearly a thousand years. At this time, I was hoping for her power to not awaken, I wasn't even sure if it was really her or not, but it was._

_Our Seer of Time._

Tsunade's breath hitched, like it did the other forty times she had read and re-read the letter. As much as it hurt to let her go, knowing she was needed someway other than a perfect daughter, was the greatest honor as an Aunt.

_I understand it is difficult to let her go, but I beg of you to let me keep her here. We are all cursed, sick or twisted people. Our pasts are not pretty and we need something, anything, to remind us that we're still human._

_I will keep in contact, not often, but in contact all the same._

It ended there, she folded it up again, tucking in back into the secret compartment, shut and locked the safe, then returned it under her desk. She rubbed a hand over her face, standing up and opening the door to her office. " SHIZUNE! Get me some vodka!"

" O-oh of course!" A skittish female voice called out from down the hall.

----------------------

Itachi watched her wearily as she chopped up green onions and slide them off the cutting board and into the frying pan. Kisame was beside her, filleting the fish and plopping them onto a white plate beside the stove.

He wasn't a fan of fish-

" Itachi, can you grab that plate of pork from the fridge?" Sakura muttered, taking a spatula and shuffling the onions around as they began to fry. " Kisame, start adding them."

The blue-haired man nodded as Itachi opened the fridge door and took the plate out. He set it on the counter beside Kisame, who sent him a small smile before setting the fish files side-by-side on the sizzling pan.

Itachi swallowed thickly, turning from his partner quickly and leaving the kitchen. Kisame continued setting the fish in. Sakura frowned, " He's been dodging you since we got back from Forlorn."

" I think he's not comfortable with someone being in love with him." Kisame muttered, walking over to the sink and washing his hands. " He wasn't a very social person before he became an Angel, so it's only natural that his human side tell him to run as far away from love as possible."

Sakura smiled, flipping the fish over. " You know so much about him."

" I should, we've been together almost as long as Sasori and Deidara." He dried his hands, looking for a moment like he was in deep thought, " Actually, they've known each other longer than we have, they were partners when I was first initiated."

She tilted her head, " Who was your first partner?"

" Zetsu." He shrugged, " It was okay, but not....natural. It didn't fit, if you get me. When we found Itachi on the first Angel Case, I had felt drawn to him long before we realized he was in danger." A dry laugh escaped him as he picked up the plate of pork and unwrapped it. " I almost got fired when I didn't get rid of the Angel's. I was so worried about him dieing..."

Blue-gray eyes lifted, " So in a way, it's my fault your friend is gone."

It was quiet for a while, while Sakura flipped the fish again, taking out another pan and starting the pork chops. Kisame watched as she worked, ready and waiting for her to blow up in his face. " Everyone is strangely sentimental today." The spatula in her hand was set down and she leaned forward to the kitchen window, watching as small white flurries drifted down. " Must be the weather."

The smile she sent him was far better than any 'I forgive you'.

------------------------

After dinner was through, the dishes washed after Hidan insisting that he was perfectly capable of washing and not breaking them(this time). Kakuzu was at the roll top desk in the main living room, tapping away at a large calculator while Hidan sat beside him, head on his arms and watching the older man drowsily.

Itachi had finally stood near Kisame for more than five minutes, but still wouldn't touch him. They sat a few feet away on the couch, the blue-haired man flipping through the channels.

Sakura smiled, walking past the room, up the stairs and down the hall to her room. She paused with a foot in the door, peering down the hall and along the wall. There was a picture hanging there, of a beautiful blue-haired girl holding a small bird on her finger. According to Kyuubi, that was Konan. Pein's best and only friend from his childhood. How ever many centuries ago that was.

But it wasn't the picture that caused her curiosity, it was the door across from Deidara and Sasori's rooms. It was a faint outline on the wall, barely showing through the maroon walls. She let her door ajar, stepping up to the outline and knocking.

The wall creaked open, dust blowing out and into her face. Sakura coughed, waving a hand in front of her face to keep the dust off. It was dark and......was that a piano?

A small gasp escaped her as she shoved the door open and took a tentative step into the darkness. The stairs went up, up and up. She came to another door, where soft piano music drifted through. It was sad, achingly so. Tears gathered in her eyes, unbidden and brought on by the soft melody.

She turned the knob, stepping into what looked to be an attic of sorts. There wasn't much except for various boxes and one large black piano seated in the center of everything. A small window was perched behind it, hidden by something dark.

However, a candle was seated atop the piano's glossy black finish, flickering slightly as she stepped forward.

" Hello?"

She saw no one at the piano, only the keys were playing. As if being played by a invisible hands. Hands of an artist, Sakura thought to herself, continuing her steps forward. The playing never ceased as she took a seat on the edge of the old bench.

Sakura stayed quiet, watching the ivory keys go up and down as they were pressed. She closed her eyes, swaying to the song and losing herself in what sounded to be an ancient melody.

Then it ended, slowly, as if the piece was finished. She opened her eyes and looked beside her, expecting to see a still empty seat.

Instead, there was a boy, hardly in his 14th year, blond hair short and brushing against his well dressed shoulders. His hands didn't leave the keys as his face turned to her, gray eyes watching her as if expecting her to say something.

" Deidara?" Sakura gasped.

_To Be Continued....._

This is a very.....I dunno, intense, emotional story. Suspenseful in the next chapter, since OMG....is it really Deidara?

Hmmmm. We shall see. I was inspired by the snowfall we had this morning. For it does not snow down here, EVER. I wake up to see it on our car on the ground, falling from the sky. It was truly beautiful and so instead of updating Guardian Bay like a good writer would, I had to get this one out of my head.

The song the piano plays is based off 'The Musician's Score' from D. Gray-man. Look it up somewhere, it's beautiful piece of music and I'm learning to play it myself.

Blessed Be,

Angel


	7. The Piano's Last Note Part Two

Summary: _Confined to the Akatsuki hideout until she's gained full control of her new found powers, Sakura does some snooping and comes across an old piano in the attic. But little did she know that the beautiful instrument held a dark past and a terrifying secret._

**The Piano's Last Note**

Part Two

Itachi's head rested on Kisame's arm, eyes closed and a blue blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Hidan looked up, rubbing one of his eyes and peering around the room. " Feel asleep did he?"

Kisame nodded, careful not to move.

Kakuzu glanced over his shoulder, " He doesn't usually do that." He chuckled, " Must be that Uchiha pride he's always spouting about."

They all laughed.

" Has anyone seen Sakura?" Kyuubi asked, sliding through the foyer door. " I can't find her anywhere." he huffed, scanning the room. Well, it was obvious she wasn't in here.

" In the kitchen?" Hidan suggested.

" Already checked." The fox sighed, taking a seat. " She wouldn't try to escape, would she?" They all exchanged looks before jumping up and heading out the doors. Kisame was a bit gentler, hesitant to leave his sleeping partner. Kyuubi sighed, tilting his head. " Stay with him. Pein thinks he's unstable." Then glided out of the room and up the staircase.

Kisame stared down at the dark-haired man now curled up on the armrest. He bent down, pushing a lock of hair from the pale face. _Unstable?_

That couldn't be good.

----------------------

There was no other explanation. It was Deidara, at least it was a younger version of him, from how tall he was and the boyishness in his face. His eyes blinked up at her, before darting back down to the keys, where his finger still rested.

_" Have you seen him?"_

She opened her mouth, then closed it, " Have I seen who?"

Those gray eyes pained, finger curling over the white keys, "_I need to see him."_

" Who? Who do you need to see?" She whispered, lifting an arm to wrap around his shoulders, but paused. He was technically a ghost or a part of Deidara. He tapped on a key, jerking her attention back to narrowed eyes.

"_ He's my only friend, you know."_ His voice even sounded like Deidara's, only slightly softer in tone, than his childish way of speaking now. "_ We were supposed to meet here."_

Sakura looked around the room, lifting an eyebrow at all the boxes, dusty old furniture and cloths that were scattered around. " You were to meet in an attic?"

_" The piano."_

She made an 'O' with her mouth, nodding and looking down at the keys with him. They were silent for a time, him playing a few notes here and there, the soft sound of winter wind creaking through holes and cracks in the walls. So, here was Deidara's..spirit? Ghost? She gasped, did something happen to Deidara on his mission?!

When she looked back down to ask, there was no one there. A stragled sound escaped as she jerked her head around, " Where did you-?"

" _There_ you are!" Came Hidan's scolding voice, " We've all been looking for you for the past hour and a half." He walked in, coat slung over his shoulder, a silver eyebrow lifted. " I see you found Sasori's old piano."

Sakura blinked, eyeing him warily before sighing in defeat. " This was Sasori's?"

" Yea. But when Pein found him and Deidara, Sasori ordered him to put it away." Hidan cocked his head to the boxes around them, " Every box is full of things from our pasts that we don't want to remember." He eyed the dusty boxes with interest. " Pein wanted to make sure we didn't know where it was." A sigh escaped, " Too late now I suppose."

" What would happen if you got a hold of what was in here?" She whispered, ready to pounce on him as he eyed a few boxes in the far left corner under the window. " Don't even think about it."

Her tone made him grin cheekily, " Our pasts are tempting you know. Pulling at us sometimes to just...go back....." He was expecting a scolding, something...anything. When they talked about their pasts, she told them firmly that she didn't even want them thinking about it.

He turned to ask where the snarky remark was, but froze. She was still there, but her fingers were planted on the keys, green eyes dull and empty.

_Oh shit._

" Kakuzu! Kyuubi!"

----------------------

Sakura groaned, grabbing her throbbing head and leaning against the nearest wall. Wait...wall? Jade eyes blinked open, the world coming into a blurry focus. She was outside, green grass surrounding her and the sound of birds singing overhead.

Her jaw dropped open as the sun beat down on a small pond, where a young woman was carrying a basket of flowers. Sun? Wasn't it snowing at the hideout? Sakura stepped out into the sun, glancing back from where she came and nearly lost her breath again.

The house was beautiful, a mansion almost with white paint, towering windows and beautiful woodwork. Vines full in bloom with tea roses and honeysuckle swirled up and around stone pillars, making her step forward and place a hand against them.

" Ahhh! There you are!" The woman with the basket hurried forward, red hair tied back in a messy ponytail. " I've been looking for you all morning."

It took Sakura a second to realize the lady was talking to her. She looked down, noting that her clothes did not consist of the jeans and sweater from the hideout, but a beautiful green sundress, bare feet in the soft grass and blue toenails. " Sorry, I...must have dozed off."

The woman chuckled, " Such a dreamer. I swear, you take after your brother. Come on." She took Sakura's hand leading through the back door and into a marvelous kitchen area. A portly man stood in front of the stove, spatula in hand and a sneer on his face.

" Found her out daydreaming again M'lady?"

She laughed, " As always, where are the boys?"

" Deidara's with Hina in the sitting room, Sasori's at the piano, as always." The man chuckled, the sneer falling as he eyed Sakura. " Lulubell, glad you could join the real world, Master Madara came by for your lesson."

" Ah, I missed him?" Sakura muttered, confused, as the words were not her own. Ahhh stupid power of hers. She pouted mentally. Stuck in some random person's body obviously in Sasori and Deidara's pasts. " I can always just learn from Sasori mother, I don't need some old man to give me lessons."

" You know Sasori doesn't like teaching." Her mother whispered with a roll of her eyes, dragging her 'daughter' down the hall and into the foyer. Sakura gasped, if the castle in Forlorn had been beautiful, then this was spectacular.

Of course, this was the past, not the present. So there was no telling if was still standing in her time or not, so-

" Catch me if you can!" A voice called, the younger version of Deidara sprinting out of what she assumed was the sitting room. He then collided, head first into another boys chest, gasping and stumbling back slightly.

Sakura swallowed, taking in Sasori's teenage form. He was tall, thin and obviously angry. " Deidara." He hissed, " You little brat, I told you not to run."

" Now, now.." Sakura laughed weakly, walking up as Deidara glared up at the elder boy. Red and gray eyes glanced at her. Deidara blinked before grinning widely.

" Lulubell!" He jumped into her waiting arms. Sakura spun him around, guessing, that since she was taller than Deidara and shorter than Sasori, she must be around 16 at the most.

" I've only been gone for a bit."

" More like four hours." Sasori crossed his arms, " Madara wasn't pleased."

Sakura rolled her eyes, letting go of Deidara, who was sticking his tongue out at Sasori. The red-head jerked forward, intent on strangling the blonde, but he moved away expertly, dashing down the hallway and up the stairs.

Sasori glared after him before turning on his heel and slamming the door he'd exited from behind him. Thier mother sighed, eyeing Hina in the sitting room. " I'll take care of her, Chiyo should be here soon to pick her up."

And so Sakura stared around her, examining the hallway before deciding who to risk first. Deidara or Sasori?

" They grew up together, if you haven't noticed."

She squeaked, spinning around and taking note absently that her hair was longer and redder. However, the real distraction was a pretty white cat sitting beside her. Blue eyes looked up at her in a way that reminded her slightly of Neji. Which could only mean, " _Kyuubi?_" She whispered, kneeling on the ground. " How did you get here?"

He snorted, " Easily. I am your guardian after all. I specialize in moving around in your mind, restoring memories if you've forgotten a vision." his little white shoulders shrugged, " It's my job now."

Sakura smiled, scooping him into her arms and nuzzling the white fur. " Thanks Kyuubi."

" My name is Feith here." He huffed, turning his nose up. " Trust only you to sneak into the past while under house watch."

She snickered, starting down the hall and up the stairs where Deidara had disappeared to. It was better to risk the wilder of the two, before breaking the ice.

---------------

" She's going to be okay, isn't she?" Hidan muttered, shifting from foot to foot as Pein moved away from the piano where Sakura's body sat. Itachi had long since woken up, fingers curling and uncurling in his pockets. Kisame gave his partner a look, but didn't push.

" She's going to be fine." Pein sighed, " Kyuubi warned me that a Ghost had escaped and planted into her when they passed the room this morning. It was only a matter of time before she got mixed into our messes." he brushed a lock of pink hair away with a sigh. " She'll be fine."

" I hope so." Kakuzu said, tugging at Hidan. " Itachi and Kisame have nothing up here to be tempting. They can stand watch."

Kisame nodded, " Are you up for it?"

Itachi gave a sigh, before gracefully taking a seat beside the piano. " Sit Kisame."

The man chuckled before taking a seat beside his partner. Pein shook his head, walking out of the room and shutting the door behind him.

It was going to be a long night.

-------------------

" I hate him!"

Sakura and Kyuubi winced as Deidara threw various items from one end of the room to the other. Screaming his lungs out and using curse words a thirteen-year old had no business knowing. He threw pillows, lamps, toys and was that a toothbrush?

" Ano..." Sakura muttered, " Why do you hate him?"

" He's a silent, broody pompous ASS!" Deidara snarled, chucking another lamp at the wall. It shattered, making Sakura sigh heavily. " And his music SUCKS!"

" I think it's lovely." Sakura sneered, waving a hand and flipping her hair over her shoulder. " He's a brilliant pianist. Aren't you his-" She trailed off, her mind spinning back to a memory of first meeting Sasori and Deidara.

_" Ahh are you partner's?" Sakura asked._

_Deidara smiled, " Yep. We're childhood friends." Sasori just grunted an affirmative behind her._

How hard, She wondered, had that been to say? When in reality, or right now, they couldn't stand to be in each others presence. Something wasn't right and by God she wouldn't be in this place if it wasn't her job to figure it all out.

" Lulubell?" Deidara whispered, slumping down onto the bed. She blinked, walking over to him and sinking into the mattress. " Does he hate me?"

Ahhhh. There he was, the Deidara she knew in the present. Sakura put an arm around him, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. " Every heart is hiding a secret. It may not be what we want to hear, or how we want to hear it, but it's a secret nonetheless."

He smiled slowly, wrapping his arms around her waist and she smiled back. Thinking to her self that she was going to choke Deidara with a hug the next time she saw him again. She gave him one last peck on the cheek before walking out of the room.

" I take it Deidara's an orphan?" She muttered to Kyuubi as the walked back down the stairs.

" Good guess. Sasori and Lulubell's family took him in, raised him like another son. Of course, he has this strange fascination with blowing things up. Calls it...art." Kyuubi chuckled as they passed up the kitchen. Sakura waved to the cook, who gave a grunt as his hands were full of bowls.

She pushed open the door Sasori had opened and blinked. Instead of the red-head, she saw a man. Black hair, coal eyes and was dressed to the T in a black suit. " Ah, sorry.."

" Lulubell." His voice was stern and cruel. " You missed your lesson's."

_Madara._ The name whispered in her ear as he stepped forward, away from the beautiful grand piano and towards her. _Evi-_

" Sorry Master." She bowed, picking up the edges of her dress, " I was..."

" Daydreaming as usual." Sasori snorted, walking out of a closet with a cardboard box. " You're just in time. Madara was planning on finding you and giving you another attempt at Mozart." He set the box on the piano bench. " Lulubell?"

She was still staring up at the tall man. It was his eyes, she supposed. One was open, endlessly black and the other was closed, covered with an eye patch. Fear had slide into every contour of her body, locking up her motion.

" I think she did rather well last session." Madara muttered, turning back to the piano where Sasori watched with narrowed eyes. " Come, Lulu, I have much to teach you. Sasori, you are excused." The red-head nodded, walking past Sakura and eyeing her.

It was something in his gaze, that made her turn and watch him leave. A warning....? " Feith." She whispered, taking a seat at the piano. Kyuubi hopped onto the bench beside her, " I don't know how to play."

Madara looked up over the box, " You can't have forgotten the piece in less than a day." He sighed, waving a hand at her, " Attempt at it."

Sakura gulped, lifted her fingers over the keys and-

" You bastard!"

She gasped, spinning in her seat at the sound of glass hitting the door. Her eyes narrowed as she slide from the bench and opened the door. Sure enough, clear glass shards where saying, shattered at her feet. The carpet was soaked and large white lilies were haphazardly tossed about.

Sasori was glaring at Deidara, who was holding another vase.

" Deidara!" Sakura hissed, planting her hands on her hips. He froze in mid-throw, eyes going wide before hurriedly hiding it behind his back.

Sasori snorted, walking up the stairs. " Next time, don't get in my way runt." He muttered to the blond boy, shoving his hands into his pockets and continuing on his way. Deidara spun around, watching with sad eyes as the elder teen disappeared around the corner. He looked back at Sakura, who had a looming dark figure behind her.

" Throwing things again, Deidara?" Madara chuckled, setting a hand on her shoulder. " Lulubell had such a commanding tone, I had to see the damage."

The boy laughed weakly, waving his hand, " Er....I um...he just...." He sighed, " I'll be up in my room." Then trudged back up the stairs.

Sakura shook her head, looking down at the mess. " Looks like I'm canceling." She stepped over the mess and headed for the kitchen, calling out for a broom and pan. Madara watched her leave, before that dark eyes lifted to the stairs. He chuckled darkly, also stepping over the glass before walking out the front door.

-----------------------------

Sakura groaned in her sleep, slamming a fist into the pillow for the third time that night. It was nearly two in the morning and she hadn't gotten any sleep at all! " You'd think these stupid powers would allow a little bit of resting time." She grumbled.

" If you're still awake, then there's something Lulubell must have done around this time." Kyuubi yawned from the foot of the bed. " Go prowl around somewhere, but be careful." His head nuzzled back into the skin of his legs, before a soft sigh gave way to his sleeping.

Sakura sighed, crawling out of bed and to the door. She tied on a silk red robe, leaving her feet bare and opening the door slowly. The hall was clear, so she tip-toed out to the staircase. As she grew near, there was a faint sound.

Ahhhh, her lips twitched, it was the same melody from the piano in the attic. She silently rushed down the stairs, to the door of the music room. The door was ajar, so she peeked through, seeing nothing but the tile flooring and.....

_Oh._

Her shoulders relaxed at the melody and the sight before her. It was so simple, they went together well, she mused. Watching calmly as Sasori's fingers danced across the left keys and Deidara the right. The music was quiet, intimate and so very, very sad. Just as it had been as Deidara had played it alone in that dusty old attic.

Sakura laid her head on the door frame, watching as Deidara grinned up at the red-head, who in turn gave the younger boy a soft, barely there smile. She smiled to herself, standing up slowly and heading back up to her room.

------------------------

" Sakura!"

Kisame grabbed Deidara around the waist as the blond darted headfirst for the piano. Deidara groaned, waving his hands in mid-air. " Why the hell weren't you moron's watching her?!"

" Even if they had been, the pull of the power would have lead her here eventually." Sasori sighed, looking everywhere but at the piano. He sighed, " Isn't it a bit much, for her to be learning about us so fast?"

" Maybe that's exactly what we need." Itachi muttered from where he was propped up against a row of old boxes. His eyes were on the book, but he wasn't reading. " Someone to help burden our pasts."

" But that's selfish!" Deidara muttered, slumping against the blue-haired man. " We shouldn't be doing this to her. It's selfish...."

---------------------

Nothing was happening and it was starting to frustrate her. She had people back in her own time waiting for her. There wasn't _time_ to be fiddling around with a damn piano! Sakura slammed her fists on the keys, making Madara jerk slightly.

" What on earth?" He muttered, eye narrowed at her. " What did you do that for?"

" I don't know this." Sakura hissed, glaring down at the keys before getting off the bench. " It bores me. This is more Sasori's forte." She waved a hand over her shoulders, but froze when she heard the last high keys being played.

" Does Deidara play?"

Her fingers stopped half-way to the knob. There was something in his tone, that made the protective flare come to life. She turned half-way to him, " Of course not. Don't you hear them fight?"

" Fighting only proves that they are the best of friends." Madara smirked, it's sinisterness making her blood run cold. What was this man up to?

" Not always. I am their sister. If they were friends, I would be the first to know." She turned the knob, stepping out of the room and shut the door sharply behind her. Her back pressed against the wall firmly, chest heaving in her blue dress.

" Lulubell?" Deidara turned around the corner, dressed only in a pair of jeans and a shirt half-way on. " Shouldn't you be in the music room?"

" Ah.....It's not for me, you understand?" She swallowed. He nodded, tugging the shirt the rest of the way on. She twisted her hands for a second before, grabbing his arm and leading up to the stairs. " Tell moma that I'll be in the garden."

" Oh....I have something to do." He smiled, why did it look so forced? " It's nearly eight, Master Madara asked to see me."

" Oh. Well. " She smiled, " Didn't realize it was that late. Hmmm. It's probably dark. " She hummed to herself, waving to him as he walked to the music room. It shut behind him and as she walked up the stairs-

Her head swiveled back as the sound of a lock sliding into place echoed through her mind. She stood on the stairs, the grandfather clock in the den chiming eight times. It was a tugging sensation, sick and twisting in her gut. She continued up the stairs and to her room.

" What are you doing on the stairs?" Sasori snorted, walking up to her dressed in what she would guess were 'casual' clothes.

" I was just talking to...." Sakura muttered, glancing back at the staircase, " I just left from my lesson?"

Sasori blinked, a red eyebrow lifting slowly, then his eyes narrowed, " Lulu, does he.....do things to you while your practicing?"

Sakura gasped, jerking back, " Excuse me?"

" Does he _touch_ you?" Sasori asked, hand gripping onto her forearm. " Like....anywhere on your body?"

" What? No." She shook her head, " Never, why would you-"

The world came to screeching halt in her mind. And she barely registered Sasori waving a hand in front of her face. Her hand shot up, fingers wrapping around his wrist. " Deidara!"

The red-head blinked, " What? What are you talking about?"

" He has Deidara!" She turned on her heels, almost missing Sasori's wide eyes as the raced down the stairs.

_To Be Continued......_

Awwww man. Another three-shot! -pouts- It was just getting so LONG. I wanted to try and get it up before Christmas. Since the ending will be sorta Christmasy. Maybe if I have time.

Let Me Know what you think! Reviews keep me inspired!

Blessed Be,

Angel


	8. The Piano's Last Note Part Three

Summary: _Confined to the Akatsuki hideout until she's gained full control of her new found powers, Sakura does some snooping and comes across an old piano in the attic. But little did she know that the beautiful instrument held a dark past and a terrifying secret._

**The Piano's Last Note**

Part Three

Kyuubi sat at the doorway of Sakura's room, watching as the two darted down the stairs. He let out a heavy sigh before turning back into the room. Pein was seated on the bed, spiral eye staring patiently at the floor as Kyuubi shut the door lightly.

" She's going to be fine." The fox whispered.

Pein lifted his head slowly, staring at his former companion. " Will she? How do you know, Kyuubi?" His eyes narrowed, " How do you know that she won't end up just like Lulubell?"

"Because she's Sakura." Kyuubi chuckled, " If there's one thing she's willing to do, is fix everything back to the way it was." He sat beside his former masters feet, leaning against his leg. " She's going to be fine. Sasori and Deidara need this more than they know."

He stood up slowly, walking to the window and stepping through. The dusty attic came into view, Itachi asleep against one of the boxes, while Kisame played solitaire. He emerged, brushing off dust from his coat and continuing out the door.

" How is he doing?" Pein whispered, looking down at the blue-haired man. Kisame's hand paused over the cards, fingers twitching.

He let out a heavy sigh, " He's unconscious. They both are now, Deidara's fever has spiked and Sasori has to be restrained. Hidan and Kakuzu are doing all they can." blue-gray eyes glanced up, " How is she doing?"

" Their future rests in her hands." Was all he said before walking swiftly out of the room.

---------------------

The door was locked. Sakura tugged insistently, beating on it over and over, crying out Deidara's name. She growled, turning to Sasori, who was digging around for something to pick the lock. Man, if she thought she looked bent out of shape, he was worse.

" I can't...I can't find anything." He hissed, slamming his fist into the wall.

" Deidara!" Sakura cried, her fist becoming raw from the beating. " Madara, get your fucking hands off of him!"

Sasori joined in, shoving his side into the door and attempting to rip the knob out. Sakura jerked around the hallway, searching for..something. _Anything!_ Where the hell was Kyuubi? She ran to the kitchen, digging around in the drawers for a knife.

A scream made her look faster, Sasori was getting desperate. After that scream, she could hear him beating the door with something heavier than himself. She grabbed at a thin knife, ripping it from it's holder and sprinting out the kitchen and into the hall.

Sasori had a bat in hand, swinging it furiously at the door. It was denting, but it wasn't enough. " He's laughing!" He growled, slamming the bat into the door again. Sakura could hear it too, that dark laugh through the plaster and wood.

She shoved him out of the way and went to picking the lock. It clicked open, the door sliding open slowly and reveling the room within.

Sasori chocked on air as he stumbled into the room. Deidara was tied to the piano bench, a knife at his throat, held by an invisible hand and a smirking Madara beside him. The dark-haired man set a hand against the piano.

" It took you two quite a while." He slide the hand over the smooth black wood, " I almost thought you had given up."

" What are you up to you bastard?" Sakura hissed, watching Sasori from the corner of her eyes. He was not happy, he was like a coil snake, ready to pounce at a moments notice.

" I'm not up to anything." He smirked, waving a hand to Deidara. " I just can't stand to see something as sickening as complete opposites come together in such a....." He tapped his chin, looking down at the struggling blond, who was gagged. He inhaled sharply as the knife cut into his throat.

" What's so bad about them being friends?" Sakura snarled, taking a menacing step forward.

Madara chuckled, " Why, nothing at all. I've been waiting, watching...." He moved to stand beside Deidara, running a pale finger over the boys cheek. " For the righ-"

" Don't touch him!" Sasori snarled.

The elder man laughed softly, brushing his fingers over the boys cheek, down his throat and took a firm grip on the knife. " Life is full of choices." Blood started running down Deidara's neck, pooling onto the black bench, " He will be so easy to kill."

Sasori let out a infuriated growl, running for Madara and throwing a fist out. Madara dodged, dropping the knife and landing on the other side of the piano. The red-head reached for Deidara, ready to untie him and stop the blood flow.

Gray eyes blinked up at him. " S-sasor-"

" Ah. Ah. Ah." Madara tsked, back beside Sasori and waving a finger in his face. " I wouldn't touch him If I were you."

" _What?"_ He hissed.

" You see....if you touch him, Lulubell will die." Sakura's eyes widened, slowly. " If you touch the piano, Deidara will die and she will live." Madara waved his hand slightly, taking a step back and watching the teenager.

Sasori's hands shook over Deidara's body. Deidara or his sister? Deidara coughed, " Don't touch me." He whispered, " You will need Lulubell more than you will need me....I..." He winced as he tried to swallow. Sasori nodded, turning to the piano and let his fingers hesitate over the keys. He looked back at Lulubell, who was glaring at Madara. The dark-haired man turned to her.

" Decisions, decisions." Madara smirked, gliding across the room to stand beside Sakura. She watched him with narrowed eyes, fist clenched at her sides. " Did you know, that whatever happens to the person your impersonating....will also happen to you?"

Sakura gasped, " How did you-"

" I know, because I am also apart of this....game." He leaned forward. " You are not the proper player for my games." His hand cupped her cheek. " Pein is such a fool."

Sakura jerked out of his grasp. " Are you saying....that you're messing with their pasts?"

" What the hell is he talking about Lulubell?" Sasori snarled, red eyes angry and promising a firm death to anyone who did not explain.

" This is not Lulubell." Madara cleared his throat, " She is....but she isn't. She is an impostor from the future, trying to kill Deidara."

Sasori's hurt face made Sakura's heart plummet. " No! That's not why I'm here....Sasori!" She made a move to him, but Madara's fingers curled into her arms. " Let me go! You sick bastard!" She struggled against the hold, eyes widening as Sasori reached for Deidara.

" How dare you play with us." Sasori hissed.

" I don't care what happens to me, grab Deidara! I'll be fine, I-" Madara started laughing, shoving Sakura to the ground and dashing for the piano. He grabbed Sasori's arm and shoved his hand onto the piano keys. The sound echoed through the room, and Deidara's hand fell to the side of the bench, his palm cut wide open in a horizontal line.

" _NO!" _Sakura screamed, stretching her hand out and sobbing as the room narrowed to a pinprick. She threw herself forward, crystal tears running down her face as the attic came into view. Kisame rushed to her side, trying to calm her down.

" Sakura! _Sakura_, are you alright?" He whispered harshly, shaking her.

" Deidara is....he's..." She tore herself from his grasp and left the attic, racing down the steps and towards Deidara and Sasori's room. The door slammed open and Sasori looked up from his spot on the bed, misty red eyes closing before he looked back down at the motionless blond on his bed.

" No." Sakura croaked, stumbling into the room, past a shaking Hidan and a solemn-looking Kyuubi. The bed was getting blurry from the tears in her eyes as she dropped to her knees. Sasori took the man's hand, pressing a desperate kiss to the fingers. " It.....it's not _fair_." She whispered, "I-"

" Please leave." Sasori muttered, sad red eyes watching the blonde's face.

Sakura blinked away the tears, rubbing at her eyes and nodding. " I'm so sorry." She whispered, moving away from the bed and into the hall.

-------------------

The snow had stopped falling, Sakura thought to herself, chopping up onions. Pein himself had refused to let her cook, but she needed the outlet. Cooking calmed her. She needed to be calmed. So here she was again, standing in the kitchen, jade eyes fixed on the snow-covered grass and trees.

She glanced back out the doorway, watching as Kisame attempting to talk to Itachi, who would jerk away each time. A sigh escaped her as Kisame gave up and Itachi stormed into the kitchen. He slammed open the fridge door and took out a soda.

Sakura continued chopping, with each down stroke of the knife, it cut at her heart. The fridge door slammed and she kept chopping. " I never thought you would be one to get scared."

It was whispered, but he heard it and froze in his steps. " Excuse me?"

" You're in love with him." She continued, brushing that batch of onions into a bowl and starting on another one. " So it's only natural to you, that after seeing someone lose something precious...that you grow fearful of losing your own precious person." His fist was squeezing the can, she could hear the metal creaking.

" You don't know how we feel." He turned to glare at her, but dodged the butcher knife instead. A gasp left him as it sped past his cheek, slicing it thinly before lodging into the wall. His eyes went red, staring at the knife before turning back to her.

" How the hell would you know?!" She snarled, " You're best friend is standing in that living room, waiting patiently for you to get through your PMSing mood swings! Sasori just lost his best friend and I lost mine months ago to YOUR kind!"

He jerked back at the outburst, eyes still red and spinning, the can crushed and on the floor. The dark red liquid slide of ther blue tile, seeping into the cracks like the pain in her heart. " So don't you _dare_ tell me I don't know how you FEEL!"

The room grew quiet, Itachi watching in awe as she turned back to the onions and started digging around for another knife.

" What's with the yelling and screaming?" Kisame grunted from the doorway. Itachi snorted, sweeping past him and into the hallway. The blue-haired man watched his partner stop at the stairs before turning back to him. His eyes were black now, watching his partner with a kind of patience that only Itachi possessed.

" Are you coming?"

Kisame blinked, before looking at Sakura, who was still hunched over the sink, then followed Itachi up the stairs.

Sakura waited until their footsteps were gone before lifting her head and staring out at the snow again. It had stopped. She sighed, turning to the door.

" Oh my-" She gasped, pressing a hand to her heart. Sasori was standing in the doorway, hands limp at his sides, red eyes watching her as if lifeless. " S-sasori..?"

" What do I do?" He whispered.

Sakura shifted from foot to foot, looking down at the messy onions, then back at the half-dead red-head. Then, she let out another sigh. " I think you should play for him." Sasori went rigid, fingers twitching into a fist. " He would want you to play." She walked across the room, dislodged the knife and tossed it into the sink.

She tugged at his hand, " Come on. I'll have Hidan and Kakuzu get it down here."

------------------

The piano fit beautifully in their large living room. Right in the corner where nothing had been before, a beautiful black piano stood. Hidan dusted it off with a feather duster, inspecting the surface before stepping away as Sasori drew near.

Sakura polished the seat, wiped of the keys with a wet cloth, checked it's tuning. She turned to the red-head, bowed and waited for him to take a seat.

He did so slowly, resting his fingers against the keys, the tips brushing almost fearfully. His shoulders shifted, arms poised at the ready and then he began to play.

Sakura felt her entire body relax as the lonely tune that started the whole thing, drifted through the air, into their hearts. She saw Kisame and Itachi slip in through the side door, glued together once again. They settled onto the couch and Sakura perched herself on the armrest of an old chair.

It was like watching magic, when Sasori played. Long fingers played along the keys in a erotic dance, taking each and every note as a lover. His head was bent over the keys, eyes closed and obviously not anywhere in their world. She could understand.

Her eyes darted to the large window and let out a breathy sigh as the snow began to fall again. It fluttered in the air, like a newborn butterfly wings, landing on the glass or on the ground. Her throat constricted, the window blurring as a new onslaught of tears surfaced.

It wasn't fair.

That....that...._man_ had taken their sunlight away, he was gone. Deidara was gone, he wasn't here anymore. He wasn't _anywhere_ anymore-

" Must you always play sad music?"

Sasori skipped a key, the sound a dull thud through their heads as all eyes swiveled to the doorway. Blond hair was loose, messy and sticking out in odd places as a hand went up to rub at gray eyes. Everyone stared.

" What?"

No one saw Sasori get up, but in seconds, he was across the room and gathering up the man in his arms, pressing his face in the disastrous blond hair. Sakura let out a whine, darting across the room and also giving the taller male a big hug.

" Sentimental morons." Kakuzu muttered, returning to his calculator.

Kisame grunted, and Itachi rested his head on the mans shoulder. " The curse reversed itself."

" Yep." Kyuubi hopped onto the couch's arm, head tilting as he watched Deidara got crushed in hugs. " Pein knew Sakura would know exactly what to do when Sasori decided to ask her."

Kakuzu made a disaproving noise, " He's putting an awful lot of faith in her, Not to mention risking her life."

" Yes, we know." Kyuubi muttered.

The front door opened and closed, cold wind brushing into the hallway. A thud on the floor made Sakura pull away from the obviously confused Deidara and crying Sasori.

" Er....why is Sasori crying and....Sakura? What's the matter?" Neji rushed forward, gathering the woman up into his arms. Sakura broke down, shaking as sobs racked her body. Silver eyes scanned the room, " What the hell happened?"

" Trust me my friend," Hidan sighed, shaking his head and patting the Hyuuga on the shoulder. " That's a story better left for another day."

Owari

And that's the end of 'The Piano's Last Note'. See, I got it up before Christmas. So...YAY. lol The next one will be AWESOME.

_An emergency call from a suicidal teenager leads Sakura, Neji, Itachi and Kisame to the city of Angel's Springs. People have been mysteriously disappearing, all the youngest sons of the families. And the interference from an old friend will make Kisame's job much harder to deal with, along with Itachi unstable condition, Sakura's new power and Neji's family secret......._

Blessed be,

Angel


	9. The Disappearing Mirror Part One

**The Disappearing Mirror**

Part One

" The snow isn't letting up." Sakura muttered to herself, leaning over the kitchen sink to peer out at the horrific weather. The smells of beef stew and strawberry pie wafted around her, contrasting to the blizzard raging outside the Hideout's walls. She could hear the stanza's of Betovan coming from the sitting room and relaxed visibly. Deidara was up and about again, it seemed.

She left the window in search of a spoon to taste the stew and was blocked by Itachi. " Jesus Christ." She glared up at him, " Warn a girl, You're worse than Kakashi." He didn't say a word, only watched as she maneuvered around him to get to the silverware. His silence worried her, she turned from the pot and gave him a look, " Is something the matter?"

He opened his mouth, shut it and sighed, " No."

" You're lying." Sakura snorted, shaking her head and returning to the stirring of her stew. " Did you and Kisame get in a fight again? That's the third one this week-" A hand fell on her shoulder and gripped tight. She closed her eyes and breathed in deep through her nose as she watched the scene behind the lids of her eyes.

As his hand retreated, she turned to him slowly, sympathy in her gaze. " You have to tell him eventually. He'll need to know."

Itachi shook his head and moved to turn away, but she reached out, gripping his wrist. " Itachi, what if it's not enough anymore? What will you do if it gets out of control?"

" You're getting better." He muttered, tilting his head slightly and showing her an offset smile. " Kyuubi is teaching you well."

He was changing the subject, so she'd let it go for now. Sakura plastered on a big smile, turning the stove on low and looped her arm through his. " He's been working me like a dog. My brain is simply in a tizzy." He relaxed into her side and followed her as she lead him out of the kitchen.

Kisame met them at the foot of the stairs, face grave and worried. Sakura let go of Itachi's arm and walked up to him. " It's another mission, isn't it?"

He nodded silently, eyes moving to Itachi, who avoided them.

Sakura sighed and started up the stairs, " Come on boys. I bet Neji's already up there. He's been bitching about needing something to do for weeks."

OlOlOlOlOlOlOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sakura stared across the room at Pein as he watched them patiently behind his desk. Kyuubi was resting on the oak surface, tail over his eyes and snoring softly. Kisame glanced between the four of them, Neji tapping insistently against his thigh and Itachi sulking in a chair.

Pein leaned forward, " I got an interesting phone call this morning."

" From Konan?" Sakura ventured with a sneer, but only gaining a glare in return.

" No. From a boy named Kiba. He lives in the town of Angel's Springs, somewhere between Kansas and Michigan." He linked his fingers beneath his chin and frowned, " Neji. You spoke with Hinata?"

Neji nodded, " Yes, she explained that during her short stay with her mother in Michigan, rumors were spreading about a small town south of them. Boys between the age of ten and fourteen were going missing in the night. All the first born sons in the families. The authorities were just blaming lack of parenting and kids just being kids. Running away, it's apparently all the rage these days." He glanced over at Sakura, who stuck her tongue out at him.

" You want us to investigate...?" Kisame asked, setting a hand on Itachi's shoulder.

Pein nodded, " Not only that. I want you to find the missing boys, dead or alive. I'll be sending Zetsu once Kyuubi has sent word that bodies were found. If they are alive, there will be no need. But for boys to just disappear, it could be the work of Angel's."

" Not likely." Itachi snorted, " They don't have common motive. The Angel's don't just target one sex or one age group. They aren't that calculated."

" True." Sakura murmured, " Is Hinata sure it's supernatural?"

Neji rubbed at the side of his head and sighed, " She said it sounded fishy. The way no one in the town seemed worried about it. She'd taken Hanabi down there and said that the town was peaceful. Not a trace of panic over the fact that boys were disappearing."

" This Kiba is worried he's next?" Kisame stated.

" Yes. He's even willing to go as far as to kill himself to keep from meeting the same fate. Plus, he has information that he wouldn't divulge over the phone. I'm hoping he'll make it through until you get there." Pein cleared his throat, " Get ready. Kakashi will meet you with the car."

Sakura brightened, " Kakashi's here?" She turned tail and raced out of the office, causing a reluctant Kyuubi to wake up and follow after her.

Pein sighed and turned to them. " Dismissed. Be ready in an hour."

" Yes Sir." All three men bowed and left the room.

Pein waited until the door closed before burring his face in his hands. It was far too soon to be sending Sakura out on another journey.

" Is it true?"

The orange-haired man lifted his head to stare at Sasori, who stood in his doorway expectantly. His arms were crossed and his face was set into careful calm. Pein always had been afraid Sasori would snap one day.

" You do not speak to me that way." He stated firmly, " Is what true?"

" What Sakura saw in our past." Sasori said.

Pein pressed his fingers to his temples and growled, " You're using Zetsu's tricks again. I will cut off an ear if this persists."

" My apologies, My Lord." Sasori took a deep bow, speaking as he stayed bent, " But if it's true and he really is trying to-"

" You will not speak it." Pein stood up now, scowling down at the bowing man.

Sasori straightened, " He's messing with out pasts, you think we can just stand by and take it?" His voice was calm, so calm that Pein nearly took a step back. " Deidara nearly died and Sakura could have gone with him. If Mada-"

" Don't speak his name!"

Sasori's face twisted into a sneer.

" One day you'll have to face that he's back. And that he'll never stop."

As the door slammed behind the stotic man, Pein collapsed into his chair and screamed.

OlOlOlOlOlOlOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

" Kakashi!" Sakura shouted, throwing her arms around the laughing man as she greeted him at the front door. He was covered in snow and grinning from ear to ear as he lifted her into the air and set her back down. The blizzard had finally waned, but snow still fell fast, covering the car sitting in front of the large stone steps.

" It's been nearly a year." He tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. " I nearly forgot what you looked like."

She slapped his hand away and laughed, " How are you two doing?"

His hand went to the spot over his heart and he smiled, " We're doing fine."

" I can not believe you made me pack for you." Deidara snarled, storming down the stairs carrying Sakura's large red suitcase.

" That's payback for spilling my corn flakes all over the floor yesterday." Sakura sniffed, snatching the bags away from him and storming out into the snow.

Deidara grumbled, waving to Kakashi and passing Itachi as he went to the parlor. Itachi shook Kakashi's hand and followed Sakura.

" He's in a good mood," Kakashi snorted, patting Kisame on the back as the man rolled his eyes, " Been bitchy for a while?"

" You have no idea." Kisame groaned, " He won't talk to anyone but Sakura. I barely get four words out of him all day."

" Must be something on his mind. The case?" Kakashi suggested, " If the Angel inside of him knows somethings going to happen, then it could affect his mood."

" Reasonable." Neji joined in, setting his suitcase besides Kisame's and shaking Kakashi's hand. " Sakura is worried about him as well."

" Maybe a good case will clear his head?" Kakashi offered, motioning for them to move ahead of them. They joined Itachi and Sakura in the large limo and instantly relaxed into the heat of the car. Kakashi started out of the driveway and prepared himself for a long, silent drive.

OlllOlOlOlOlOOOOOOO

The town of Angel's Springs made Sakura's skin crawl.

She stepped out of Kakashi's limo and stared out over the snow-covered landscape. Rows and rows of houses stood neatly in line, snow perfectly plowed and windows bright. It was something from the front of a Hallmark card.

Nothing was this perfect.

A woman dressed in a green cloak waved to her as she passed, disappearing into a small bookshop. It wasn't the wave that had sent chills down Sakura's spine, but the smile on the woman's face. It wasn't the smile of a happy woman saying hello to a new face.

It was the smile of a mother who's son was suddenly gone.

" I get what Hinata was talking about." Neji muttered, " This place just looks so..."

" Painted." Itachi stepped out infront of them, " Fake. Artifical."

" Thanks. For the vocabulary lesson." Sakura stated sarcastically, turning to Kakashi and giving him a small smile. He looked slightly nervous, " Kakashi?"

" Are you sure you won't need me?"

" Not you." Itachi said, " But perhaps Iruka?"

Sakura gasped, " That's a great Idea! If there's some sort of spell or enchantment, Irkua's perfect for the job!"

Kakashi pursed his lips and gave Itachi an once-over, " What if It's Angel's? Or Piano's? You people get into the strangest things. I thought the Blackout case was creepy."

" Oh will you shut u-"

A woman's scream threw Sakura's heart into her throat. It had come from inside the bookstore. The group rushed inside, where the woman from outside was standing at the cash register, book held in a shaking hand. She turned to them, " I-I don't...she went in the back to get a book I had on hold and-"

The scream came again, this time muffled and followed by hysterical crying. Kisame pushed through the counter's door and ripped open the curtain leading into the back room of the shop. Another door was cracked open on the far left of the room, the scream sounded again.

Sakura gasped as they threw the door open and saw an old bookkeeper kneeling in a pool of red liquid. Neji put his hand to his nose and looked away, tugging Sakura out the door. Sakura struggled, but Kakashi helped him.

It was pointless.

She could still see it in her head.

The boy's severed head on the chair of a roll-top desk and his body slumped on the bed, hands clasped in prayer.

" What in the name of God was on the wall?" Kakashi whispered hoarsely.

" 'Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.'." Sakura muttered, pressing her fingers to her lips and closing her eyes. " He's quoting the Bible."

" Matthew 10:16."

Neji looked up at the woman from the register, who's hands were still shaking. " Is it because he called for help? He said he'd call for help." Tears began to fall from her eyes, hiccups catching in her throat. She clutched at her chest and sobbed, " Poor Kiba. Poor, Poor-"

" Oh shit." Kisame muttered from the room behind him.

" There goes our information." Neji cursed.

_To Be Continued..._

Wow. This took me forever to get up. Shame on me. But I have...four more days to get all three parts up. So egg me on! PLEASE.

It took a new girl at work to ask me to update again. I am ashamed of my lack of update, but life seems to keep getting in the way.

I am working to change that.

Blessed Be,

Angel


End file.
